BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



VOLUME XVIII 



^ 1 



CONTAINING LIFE SKETCHES OF LEADING CITIZENS OF 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY 



MASSACHUSETTS 



" Biography is the home aspect of history ' 



BOSTON 
Biographical Review Publishing Company 

1897 



Fie 



ATLANTIC STATES SERIES OF BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS. 



The volumes issued in tliis series up to date are tlie following: 



I. Otseco County, New York. 

II. Madison County, New York. 

. III. Broome County, New York. 

IV. CoLU.MBi.A. County, New York. 

V. C.^YUOA County, New York. 

VI. Delaware County, New York. 

^'II. LlYINGSTON and WYOMING COUNTIES, 

New York. 

VIII. Clinton and Essex Counties, New York. 

IX. Hampden County, Massachusetts. 

X. Franklin County, Massachusetts. 



March. 1S97. 



XI. Hampshire County, Massachusetts. 

XII. Litchfield County, Connecticut. 

XIII. \'0RK County, Maine. 

XIV. Cumberland County, Maine. 

XV. O.XFORD AND FrANKLIN COUNTIES, 

Maine. 
XVI. Cumberland County, New Jersey. 
XVII. Rockingham County, New Hamp- 
shire. 
XVIII. Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 



B. R. PUB. CO., 

1 5 Court Square, Boston. 



PREFACE. 



AVAILING ourselves with all diligence, and in good faith, of the material 
kindly placed at our disposal, we have pushed forward to its completion a 
new volume of contemporary biography, — the eighteenth in our Atlantic 
States Series, — which we take pleasure in tendering to our subscribers, the friends 
and patrons who have aided in our work, feeling confident that, however it may fall 
short of the ideal excellence striven after, it will be found to meet a real want, 
o-ratify a natural taste of the times, and occupy a place hitherto unfilled. The 
o-eneration that fails to write its own records will seldom get a fair showing on the 
pages of history. Here on these western shores, where first 

"Common men began to own the world,'' 

the inherent dignity of human nature, the worth of the individual, have been 
strongly emphasized. Genealogy, which traces descent, and helps to show the 
origin and transmission of personal traits, has become an attractive and popular 
study, and biography, which shows individual character and action, a favorite form 
of literature. The average newspaper gives undue prominence to the evil done 
by men of ill-will or misguided passion. To the writer of select biographies falls 
the cheerful task of setting down what is best deserving of remembrance and 
emulation in the virtuous lives of earnest workers in divers fields of usefulness. 

These pao-es show what manner of men and women are, now, two hundred 
seventy and more years after the landing on Plymouth Rock, dwelling in the old 
homes and haunts of the Pilgrims. Many of the worthies here commemorated 
are "Mayflower" descendants, kinsmen and kinswomen of that good and valiant 
band, through various lines of ancestry. Others trace from the " Fortune," the 



PREFACE 



"Ann," the "Little James," the "Diligent," or later venturous barks, some being 
valued American citizens of foreign birth, \ as truly imbued with the Pilgrim 
spirit as was the poet whose forceful lines, al: ..dv quoted from, choicely set forth 
the saintly and rugged virtues of the forefathers : — 

"A saving reiK..ant they; 
Dreamers who work, adventure, . who pray ! 



'• They trusted first the universal vote ; 
The first were they to practise and in- till 
The rule of law, and not the rule of will; 
They lived one noble test, — who would be freed 
Must give up all to follow^ duty's need." 



Biographical Review PuBLr"n\G Company. 



March, 1897. 





^z-^^-'Z-^s*'' 




BIOSRAPHIGAL. 




UI'"US PACKARD KINGMAN, 
^ I /| 1 jy J late President of the Home Na- 
tional Bank, of Brockton, was 
for years closely identified with 
the most vital interests of this 
city, where he was an honored 
resident. He was born in what 
was then North Bridgewater 
(now Brockton), November 4, 
1821, a few months after the birth of the 
town. He was a son of Benjamin and Re- 
becca (Packard) Kingman, Benjamin being- 
sixth in descent from Henry Kingman, who 
with his wife, Joanna, and five children, 
landed in Weymouth, Mass., July 10, 1636, 
coming from Weymouth, England. 

North Bridgewater, in the early part of the 
century, was a small settlement of farmers and 
shoemakers. Benjamin Kingman was engaged 
for some time in the manufacture of shoes, 
but about 1833 he erected a public house on 
the present site of Washburn's Block, and 
went into the hotel business. Later he gave 
his attention chiefly to farming. He was for 
a number of years agent for the Hingham 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Hingham, 
Mass. Mr. Benjamin Kingman took an active 
part in political affairs, and was elected to a 
number of offices, serving for some time as 
Selectman of North Bridgewater, and attend- 
ing the General Court. 

Rufus Packard Kingman attended the public 
schools of his native town, and also received 



private instruction from some of the early 
teachers of the place — Mrs. Nathan Jones, 
Deacon Heman Packard, the Rev. Jonathan 
Coe, and others. He was twelve years old 
when his father erected his public house, and 
he began at that time to make himself useful. 
He afterward worked on the farm until he was 
eighteen years old. and in 1840 he entered the 
employ of William I*". Brett, proprietor of the 
leading dry-goods and variety store in the 
town. This store was in the hotel building, 
corner of School and Main Streets. In 1846 
Mr. Kingman was made a partner in the busi- 
ness, and the firm name changed to Brett 
& Kingman. He was never physically strong, 
and in 1854 he was obliged to retire from 
active business for a while on account of 
feeble health. While in the dry-goods trade, 
Mr. Kingman in 1850 erected the first brick 
building in the town, on the site of the old 
Centre schoolhouse, south of the hotel. It 
was named Kingman's Block, and is now 
occupied by Howard & Caldwell, clothiers. 
Soon after the dissolution of the firm of 
Brett & Kingman, there was a demand for 
banking accommodations, and, a bank being 
established, Mr. Kingman was chosen Cashier. 
He filled his position with such signal ability 
that the bank was a great success, and was 
only abandoned on the establishment of the 
United States Banking Laws. It was closed 
in 1866, on the decision of the Directors that 
they would not change to a national bank. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



In 1874 a new bank was chartered, called the 
Home National Bank; and Mr. Kingman 
being unanimously elected President, filled his 
office with honor and signal ability for twenty 
years. In 1S76, when the North Bridgewater 
Savings Bank was closed, Mr. Kingman and 
Ellis Ames, of Canton, were appointed Trus- 
tees by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts 
to wind ui) its affairs. They performed their 
dutv in such a faithful and judicious manner 
that they were able to pay the depositors 
ninety-four and ninety-six one hundredths 
per cent. 

Mr. Kingman, on the death of his father, be- 
came agent for the Hingham Mutual Fire In- 
surance Company, and in 1871 he was elected 
to the Board of Directors. Affairs of great 
importance were often intrusted to him, and 
he was never found wanting in honesty and 
integrity of purpose. His personal success 
did not warp or narrow his nature. Often 
consulted on matters of finance, his advice was 
always freely and honestly given. When the 
North l^ridgewater Board of Trade was estab- 
lished he was elected a Director; and in 1890, 
when the Brockton City Hospital was or- 
ganized, he was elected Vice-President. In 
1874 he was one of the corporate members of 
the Brockton Agricultural Society. He was 
one of the first Directors of that body, was 
two years Treasurer, and for some time Vice- 
President; and in January, 1893, when the 
Commercial Club was organized, Mr. Kingman 
was elected President. 

He belonged to a family well known for 
their prominence in local affairs, and he took a 
personal interest in the welfare of his native 
place. In politics he was a stanch Whig and 
Republican. While acting as Cashier of the 
first bank, he was elected Town Treasurer of 
North Bridgewater, and faithfully performed 
the duties of his office for nine years; in 1873 



he was chosen Assessor; in 1873 and 1874 
was re-elected; and in 1881 he was a member 
of the Retiring Board of Selectmen, it being 
the last year, of the town government. He 
had much to do in arranging affairs for the in- 
auguration of the new city government, and 
under Brockton's new order of things he was 
elected to the Board of Aldermen from Ward 
2, being made Chairman on the organization 
of the l^oard ; and he was unanimously re- 
elected three times. The Hon. William L. 
Douglas, when mayor of the city, appointed 
him Chairman of the Board of Sewerage, May 
31, 1890; and he was efficiently discharging 
the duties of this office at the time of his 
death, which occurred on Tuesday, February 
20, 1894. 

Mr. Kingman was married August 30, 
1852, to Abby, only child of Captain Win- 
throp Sears and Sally (Hawes) Baker, of Yar- 
mouth, Mass. "He was fond of home, the 
life of the social circle, tender and affection- 
ate," says Bradford Kingman in his Plistory 
of Brockton, from which the facts here given 
are taken. " He was plain of speech, honest, 
straightforward, firm, and decided when deci- 
sion was needed; had excellent judgment in 
all matters of business. . . . He had no ambi- 
tion for public honor or notoriety, and was 
never active in political strifes, though he was 
ever ready by his vote to promote the public 
good. . . . He was most genial and interesting 
in private, fond of company, had some wit, 
was always cheerful and buoyant, and quick at 
repartee. . . . He took great delight in look- 
ing over the personal history of the King- 
mans, and when the Kingman Memorial Asso- 
ciation was organized he took a prominent 
part, and was elected its Treasurer, filling the 
office until his death. He caused an elegant 
monument to be erected at his own expense in 
Union Cemetery, ]?rockton, to the memory of 




ROBERT B. HALL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the ancestors of the Kingman family in Amer- 
ica. He had further plans, which were pre- 
vented from fulfilment by his death." 




iVRUS HOWARD, one of the old and 
respected citizens of Brockton, repre- 
senting a prominent and long estab- 
lished family, was born in North Bridgewater, 
November 14, 1S17. He is a son of Cyrus 
and Sylvia (Howard) Howard, both descend- 
ants of John Howard, one of the early colo- 
nists of New England, and whose first home in 
this country was near that of Miles Standish. 
I'urther information concerning the Howard 
ancestry may be found in the sketch of George 
B. Howard. 

Cyrus Howard, Sr., a well-to-do farmer of 
North Bridgewater, who owned a good farm 
of one hundred acres, spent his life in this 
place, and died at the age of eighty years. 
His wife, Sylvia, was a daughter of Colo- 
nel Caleb Howard, of North Bridgewater, 
who was descended from P^phraim and 
Mary (Keith) Howard, througli Ephraim, 
born March 25, 1697, and George, son of 
Ephraim, born January 31, 1721. The latter, 
who died April 3. 181 5, was married in 1745 
to Abigail, daughter of Jonathan Copeland. 
She was born December 9, 1724, and died 
March 26, 1809. George and Abigail (Cope- 
land) Howard were the parents of eleven chil- 
dren, namely: Hannali, born July 26, 1746; 
Abigail, September 26, 1748; Betty, May 9, 
1751; George, September 8, 1753; Oliver, 
December 21, 1755; Job, May 17, 1758; 
Caleb, December 15, 1760; Rachel, April 20, 
1763; Patte, August 2, 1765; Asaph, March 
19, 1768; and Nehemiah, born August 20, 
1770. Colonel Caleb Howard, who was an 
officer in the State militia, and served in 
many town offices, died January 4, 1831. He 



was married December 7, 1780, to Sylvia, 
daughter of Daniel Alger. She was born No- 
vember 13, 1 76 1, and died September 17, 
1819, at the age of fifty-seven. Her children 
were: Hannah, born May 9, 1782; Apollos, 
August 23, 1784; Abigail, March 23, 1786; 
Sylvia, June 9, 1788; Vesta, May 17, 1790; 
Chloe, January 19, 1793; Nancy, January 10. 
1795; Welcome, April 17, 1797; Olive, July 
24, 1799; Caleb, June 8, 1802; and Thomas 
Jefferson, July 20, 1804. Mrs. Sylvia (How- 
ard) Howard died I'"ebruary 14, 1822. She 
was the mother of two children, of whom 
Cyrus was the younger. 

Cyrus Howard was educated in the common 
schools of North Bridgewater. He first 
worked at shoemaking, the leading industry 
of this section of Plymouth County. After 
several years of indoor labor, he found a more 
healthful occupation as driver of a market 
wagon. In managing sales for another he saw 
the opportunities for profit in the produce 
trade, and eventually started a market of his 
own, which he successfully managed for fifteen 
years. Mr. Howard is now retired from 
active business. He was married November 
6, 1844, to Hannah, daughter of Zopher Eiekl, 
of Brockton. She died October 14, 1873, 
leaving two children. Of the latter, Isabella 
A., the wife of Thomas W. I'^rost, of Wolfe- 
boro, N.H., now survives. i\Ir. Howard has 
been long aflfiliated with the Republican party 
and its lineal predecessors, having cast his first 
Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison 
in 1S40. He attends religious service at the 
New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) Church. 



ON. ROBERT B. HALL, formerly 
of Plymouth, who tiuring his life- 
J^ V^ time served his fellow-men in the 
double capacity of minister of the gospel and 




BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



legislator, was born in Boston, Mass., in the 
year 1812. He acquired his education in 
Boston and in Yale University, where he grad- 
uated from the School of Divinity. Early in 
his life he was a member of the Congrega- 
tional church, in whose ministry he spent 
seven or eight years. His religious views un- 
derwent a change some years later, and he 
entered the Episcopal church, receiving 
orders, and becoming a priest according to 
its rites and canons. For some time after his 
ordination he was rector of the church in 
Newport, R.I., and also had charge of the 
parish of Plymouth, where through his efforts 
a church edifice was erected. 

The logical force of his reasoning, and the 
conscientious motive of his efforts, gave him 
the same strong influence in municipal affairs 
that he exerted from the pulpit. When he 
was elected by the people of his district to rep- 
resent them in the legislative halls of the 
State, he was as potent in advocating a high 
standard of national morals as he had been in 
inculcating purity of individual life. Closing 
his connection with the State legislature with 
a year of service in the Senate, he was elected 
member of Congress, the duties of which office 
he discharged faithfully and honorably for 
four years. The .Senator-Priest of Plymouth 
delivered his message to the world from plat- 
form, pulpit, and press, enunciating the doc- 
trines of truth, purity, and honesty,' and 
pointing steadily to the one perfect type of 
humanity. The contributions from his pen to 
various American magazines remain to in- 
struct and tell what manner of man he was. 
One of his most elocpient addresses was de- 
livered at the dedication of the Masonic 
Temple in Boston. 

Mr. Hall married Miss Abbie N. Davis, a 
daughter of Nathaniel M. Davis, whose only 
sister married the distinguished historian, 



George Bancroft, in 1843. William T. Davis, 
the historian, and Judge Davis, of Plymouth, 
both well known in the world of letters and 
jurisprudence, were cousins of Mrs. Hall. 
Mrs. Hall has one child, a daughter. Mr. 
Hall died in April, 1868, aged fifty-six 
years. Mrs. Hall is still a resident of Plym- 
outh, where the memory of her husband's 
oood deeds lives after him. 



g)i ON. PELEG McFARLIN. — Peleg 
~A Mcl'"arlin, son of Sampson and Polly 
.s> y ^ (Shurtleff) McP'arlin, was born in 
Carver, Plymouth County, Mass., October 18, 
1843. His early education, acquired in the 
public schools of his native town, was supple- 
mented by private study, and by attendance at 
a commercial college. 3 / — . 

At the age of nineteen -y«ars he accepted a 
position as clerk in the Boston office of Mat- 
thias l-^llis & Co., iron founders, whose manu- 
fatory was located at South Carver. -Mrr 
Me-EaFlin/develop6tiVstrong traits as a business 
man, arad came to occupy such a prominent 
position ill the administration of the affairs of 
the company that in 1870 he was admitted to /— 
partnership ^ the firm^ wlrtch- seven — years 
before had first employed-hi^n-as _c^a ine-xperi^- 

enced clerk. Mr., McFarlin then return6<3";to 

/■I / 

his native town^_ and- practically assumed full 

charge of the irpn foundry^ an<:l foriTMDre than 
a qua?tef of a centufy^fS'h.as— guided and con- 
trolled its interests/." ' • ' 

''''These works constitute a sort of historic 
landmark. They antedate the Revolution, 
having been established as far back as 1757, 
and having been, it is said, in almost contin- 
uous operation since that period. It is 
claimed that the first iron tea-kettle manu- 
factured in tliis country was cast at these 
works. Shot for the Revolution was -made 



V^A^- 



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I ( 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



13 



^ 



.'xlK 



\i 






.'^ 



1 : .'■ 

here, also for the War of 1812-14. A mem- 
ber of the company also engaged in supplying 
shells for the suppression of the Rebellion of 
1 86 1. "Of— course, the toundry has passed 
through many vicissitudes iii/:ident to the 
march of progress, and its products to-day, 
under Mr. McFarlin's management, ' .aie- 
strictly modern, e&fmf> ting of - ranges, fur-, 
naces, parlor stoves, improved hollow ware, 
etc./ while no vestige remains of those- anti- 
quated and now obsolete commodities, the 
production of which once engaged the full 
capacity of the worksj '^'-'-j, ''"'y ^/J^ 

A— pubJic-spirited cit-izen, Mr. McFarlin 
since his r^uT-n to his native town^ iias— recog- 
nized his civic duties, and 'has been active 
along various lines &f^^u&eiiilness, having been 
called by the votes of his fellow-citizens to- 
occupy many positions of responsibility and 
honor, l-'or more than twenty years he has. 
served as sole Trustee of the Benjamin Ellis 
School I-'und.j He has likewise- served as a 
member of the School Committee, and in other 
town offices^ tle-4«is bee«^ i^bstmaster of' 
South Carver^- without interruption for twenty 
years/ Goveiiiui — Talbot Appointed 
l-"arlih a Justice of tlie Peaca. a«d his com- 
mission as Justice Jia* never lapsetj, having 
been renewed by Governor Robinson, and 
again reaeived by Governor Russell^ Mr. 
McF"arlin is- a Trustee of the W'areham Sav- 
ings Bank Corporation. 

/tin the memorable Garfield campaign of 
. iS80j_,Mr. Mcl-'arlin was nominated as a can- 
didate for Representative to the General Court 
from the Fourth Plymouth District, then in- 
cluding the towns of Carver, Plympton, 
Kingston, and Duxbury. He was elected, 
andr at the opening of the legislative session, 
was appointed a member of the Committee on 
Manufactures. He was prominent in the de- 
bates of the session, and served with such ac- 



ceptance that the following year he was taken 
up by the citizens of the First Plymouth Dis- 
trict as a candidate for Senatorial honors, and 
with such unanimity that he received every 
vote in the nominating convention. For three 
years he remained a member of the State 
Senate, and enjoyed the rare distinction of 
being thrice nominated without a dissenting 
vote, and thrice elected Iiy large and increas- 
ing majorities. He served as Chairman of 
the Committee on Manufactures in 1882 and 
1883, and as Chairman of the Railroad Com- 
mittee in 1884. 

The Hon. Charles T. Gallagher, the dis- 
tinguished Boston lawyer, published in the 
Middleboro Gazette a review of the Senate of 
1882, of which he was himself a member, and 
in it paid the following graceful tribute to Mr. 
McFarlin: "I desire to express my admiration 
for the sterling qualities of character and at- 
tainment that he exhibited all through the 
session. To speak of his genial good nature, 
his manly character and bearing, his sterling 
integrity, and his business ability, would be 
but to repeat what is already well known by 
his constituents and friends. But, as a legis- 
lator, he shone out as an unusually bright and 
efficient man in the right place, not only for 
his general good judgment and knowledge of 
affairs of legislation, but as a debater on the 
floor, where, from the delivery of his speech 
on the presentation of the General David 
Cobb portrait, early in the session, to his able 
and lucid argument on the Judge Day case 
near its close, in the many times that he 
spoke at the Senatorial Board, he was recog- 
nized as one of the clearest, most interesting 
and conscientious speakers of our number; 
and he added to his record of diligence in 
committee work the capacity to present his 
reports with clearness and ability before the 
full Board. As a companion, his beaming 



.( 



14 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



good nature, his ready wit, his off-hand prac- 
tical references and original productions 
■passed around the Board at some incident oc- 
curring in the process of business, won him 
to the hearts of all his associates." 

Mr. McFarlin has been a contributor to 
^current literature, and is more or less in de- 
mand as a public speaker; His Memorial 
Day addresses, his speeches on political topics, 
and his literary productions, notably his con- 
tribution to King's "Tributes to Garfield," 
have given him prominence before the public 
as a speaker and wrffer. Mr. McFarlin was 
married in Carver jn 1875 to Eldoretta, daugh- 
ter of Levi and Elizabeth (Look) Thomas. 
Of;this union, two children are now living — 
Donald and Helena McFarlin. Wint hropj an 
infant son,, died January loVT^Sg. • „ ' 

Mr. McFarlin^s-h^me life is all that could 
be desired. He has a fine residence at South 
Carver, situated amid scenes of great natural 
attractivenesSj Here he is content to dwell, 
with his well-cultivated farm, his well-stocked 
libraryl with troops of friends, and an inter- 
esting family zealously devoted to his happi- 
ness. 

In preparing this brief biography, we are 
forcibly impressed with the thought that Mr. 
McFarlin's career demonstrates anew that we 
live in a land where a young man may, from 
comparatively feeble beginnings, by diligence 
and force of character, constantly improve his 
condition, and crown iiis life with worthy 
achievements. 



Ij'RED F. field, junior member of the 

Plj well-known shoe manufacturing firm of 

Packard & Field, Brockton, was born 

in the part of Brockton known as Montello, 

May II, 1861. He is the youngest child of 

William L. and Mary Dennison (Holmes) 



Field. William L. Field was for many years 
e.xtensively engaged in farming in Montello, 
where he owned a large tract of land, much of 
which is now occupied by thriving factories. 
Another of his sons, Daniel Waldo Field, who 
is a wealthy shoe manufacturer, erected and 
gave to Montello its pretty Congregational 
Church, and is identified with many other 
public enterprises. 

Fred F. Field received his early education 
in the common schools of Brockton. His 
father had a large milk route, and the boy was 
early put on the wagon to serve customers, 
thus learning practical business methods when 
quite young. He subsequently took a course 
of study at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial 
College, Boston, and then entered the employ 
of Burt & Packard, of Brockton, in answer to 
their advertisement for an office boy. His 
diligent attention to business won the confi- 
dence of his employers, and he was promoted 
step by step from the position of office boy and 
porter to that of assistant to Mr. Packard in 
his factory. He was afterward made superin- 
tendent ; and when he had filled that position ' 
some two or three years, Mr. Burt having re- 
tired on account of ill health, Mr. Field be- 
came junior partner, under the firm name of 
Packard & Field. The firm of Burt & Packard 
was well known to the public through its 
phonetic form of advertising, " Korrect 
shape," and controlled an extensive and pros- 
perous business. It has been still further de- 
veloped since Mr. Field became actively con- 
nected with the business. He is active man- 
ager of the concern, buying all the stock, and 
attending to all financial details, Mr. Packard 
acting as silent partner. The firm employs 
some three hundred men, and turns out about 
si.\ hundred pair of shoes daily, supplying cus- 
tomers both in this country and abroad. 

Mr. Field was married February 20, 1884, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'S 



to a daughter of I'rcd I'ackartl, of Hmckton, 
aiul has now one cliild, I'"rcd !•'. In politics 
he is a Republican, but he takes no active in- 
terest in political affairs, lie is an honored 
and popular member of the Commercial Club, 
and has been on its Executive Committee 
since its orj^anization. In religious belief lie 
is a Unitarian, anti he attends the Church of 
the Unity. 

"OIIN A. RICE, an old and honored 
resident of Rockland, was born Janu- 
ary 29, 1830, at Northfield, Vt., a son 
of Alphonso and Mary (Cardell) Rice. His 
father, Alphonso Rice, who was a manufact- 
urer of Northfield, and later a farmer of 
Urookfield, in his later years moved to Brook- 
lyn, la., where he died at the age of seventy- 
eight. His wife, Mary, was a native of New 
York State, having been born near Lake 
George. 

Jolm A. Rice was the eldest of a family of 
nine children. lie was brought up on the 
farm, working in the summer, and attending 
the district schools in the winter. At the age 
of seventeen he began to teach school, an ex- 
ample which was subsequently followed by his 
brothers and sisters. He taught in his native 
State for four winters, and afterward in Massa- 
chusetts for two winters. At the age of 
twenty-one, desiring to begin life for him- 
self, he went to the West, where he spent 
some time in various employments. Return- 
ing liomc, he went to work in the general 
store of his brother-in-law at I'2ast Stoughton, 
now called Avon. As this relative of Mr. 
Rice's was also the Postmaster of the place, 
Mr. Rice attended for a while to the work 
of the post-office. Leaving East Stoughton, 
he went to New York City, where, however, 
he remained but a short time, returning in 
a few months to \'erm(Hit. At this time he 



was recommended to Nahum Moore, a dealer 
in dry-goods and furniture in the town of J-Iast 
Abington, now Rockland, by a mutual friend, 
for the position of the clerk Mr. Moore 
needed to take charge of his business while he 
was attending to his legislative duties. The 
upshot was that Mr. Moore offered Mr. Rice 
the ])osition, and Mr. Rice accepted it, and 
came to I'Last Abington (Rockland). He soon 
proved to his new employer that he possessed 
the right qualifications for a successful busi- 
ness man. At the end of one year Mr. Moore 
took him into partnership. Shortly after Mr. 
Rice, in company with a Hoston man, bought 
out Mr. Moore's interest in the business, and 
both conducted the place together for two 
years under the firm name of Rice & Eldridge. 
At the end of that time Mr. Rice sold out his 
interest to his partner, and to(jk a position as 
clerk with him, which he held ior a period of 
two years. During the Civil War he went to 
.St. Joseph, .M(j., with a stock of goods, which 
he disposed of there at a great profit. This 
was owing to the fact that in that city public 
feeling on the subject of the conflict was about 
equally divided, and Southern partisans were 
as anxious to get rid of the "greenbacks" as 
the other side was to get hold of them. Owing 
to Mr. Rice's shrewdness, he reaped a veri- 
table harvest, especially iluring the last year of 
the war. Upon his return to Vermont, he 
purchased the old home farm, and took up his 
residence there, but remained only one year. 
Returning to Rockland, he resumed his old 
business. Shortly after, his store was burned 
out. Not discouraged, he continued business 
elsewhere until a new building was erected. 
About this time his brother, Charles L., came 
back from the war, and went into partnership 
with him. They continued together for some 
time, hut, upon the business increasing, they 
separateil ami divided it, John A. retaining 



i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the original dry-goods department, and his 
brother taking the furniture line. They have 
both achieved success — the logical result of 
their enterprise, sagacity, and business 
talents. Athough the business continues, Mr. 
Rice retired from active participation about 
twelve years ago. 

On May 30, 1857, Mr. Rice married Sarah 
S. Soule, a native of Rockland, and a daugh- 
ter of Josiah and Sophronia J. Soule. They 
became the parents of four children, of whom 
three are deceased; namely, J. Willard, Eddie 
Lawrence, and Lester Howard. The survivor 
is John Wesley, who is at present a student at 
Harvard, and resides with his parents. In 
political action Mr. Rice is a Republican. 
He has strong Prohibition tendencies, but 
does not believe that the Third Party is an 
available factor in practical politics at the 
present time. Besides his hatred of the 
saloon as a demoralizing agency, he has a 
strong aversion to tobacco, which he is not 
afraid to express in a manly way to those 
about him. His advice on the subject, if not 
always followed, is always listened to with re- 
spect, because of his disinterested motives. 
His religious views identify him with the 
Congregational church, of which he is a 
strong, earnest, and useful member, and of 
which he has been a Deacon for a quarter of a 
century. He has long been a member in 
good standing of the Masonic order. A pub- 
lic-spirited citizen, Mr. Rice is ever interested 
in any practical movement to promote the 
moral, social, or intellectual interests of the 
town. 



AJOR SAMUEL H. DOTEN.— 
Occasionally in the walks of life 
one meets a man whose energy, 
courage, and general force of character, are 
such as to draw to him a train of followers in 




whatever enterprise he may choose to embark. 
Such a man is Major Samuel H. Doten, of 
Plymouth, who was born in the old Colonial 
town, June 15, 1812, of genuine "Mayflower" 
pilgrim ancestry. His parents were Samuel 
and Rebecca (Bradford) Doten. 

Samuel Doten, whose father had three 
wives, was one of a family of twenty-three 
children. He was bom in Plymouth, and 
followed the sea for a number of years in the 
merchant service. During the War of 181 2 
he was a privateersman, and was so fortunate 
as to capture a prize. He retired from the sea 
when past middle age, and was in the lumber 
business for a while in Plymouth, where he 
died in 1S62, aged seventy-nine years. His 
wife, Rebecca, was a daughter of Nathaniel 
Bradford, of Plymouth, who was a Revolution- 
ary soklier, and a lineal descendant of Gover- 
nor William Bradford. She was the mother of 
nine children, si.x of whom are yet living, the 
subject of this sketch being the eldest. 

Samuel H. Doten was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Plymouth. Reared amid 
seafaring men, he went to sea when quite 
young, and at the age of twenty -four was mas- 
ter of the packet "Atlanta." After sailing 
in that capacity for five years, he succeeded 
his father in the lumber business in Plymouth, 
and erected a number of the best buildings in 
the town, including the Miles Standish 
Block — both the original edifice, which was 
destroyed by fire, and the present fine struct- 
ure — the Masonic Hall, the large dwelling- 
house on the corner of Mayflower and Robin- 
son Streets, and his own residence. The 
Miles Standish Block he still owns. The 
Masonic Hall he sold to the Masons. He was 
in the lumber and coal trade some twenty 
years, and then turned his attention to real 
estate business, in which he is now engaged. 

P"rom early youth he was interested in mili- 




SAMUEL H. DOTEN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RKVIKW 



lO 



lar\' matters, and in US36 he joined tiie Stan- 
dish Guards of Plymouth as a musician. 
Chosen Ca])tain in 1842, he declined to serve 
in that capacity, but in 1.S44 he accepted the 
rank of Lieutenant-Commaniler. Tiie Stan- 
dish Guards made a fine fi<;ure on gala-days, 
with military pomp and display, for a number 
of years: but the crucial test of soldiership 
did not come until the attack on I-"ort Sumter 
awakened so many American citizens to a 
sense of the awful dut\' before them. When 
Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand 
three-years men reached the homes of New 
ICngland, old Plymouth was aroused, and a 
mass meeting was called. lixcitemcnt ran 
high, and Major Doten, with characteristic 
enthusiasm, leaped over the footlights onto 
the stage, and was the first to put his name on 
the list, signing, for aught he knew, his own 
death warrant. .Si.xty-five men followed his 
lead, and in the course of a week a company 
was formed, and he was elected Captain of the 
Plyniouth Rock Guards, which was attaclnnl to 
the old 'i'hirtl Massachusetts Regiment. 

They were sent first to Fortress Monroe, 
where thev remained some three months, and 
were later in Colonel H;iines's command, 
attached to the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts 
Regiment. During their term of service they 
covered nearly the whole seat of war, cam- 
paigning for a while in the West, fighting 
under McClellan in the seven-days battle 
before Richmond, retreating to Harrison's 
Landing, and thence into Maryland, doing 
brave service on the bloody field of Antietam, 
camping at Harper's Kerry, entering Hum- 
side's command at Warrenton, and from there 
going to Fredericksburg, where they wintered. 
While at Fredericksburg they made a sortie 
and were driven back, but the repulse only 
whetted their courage for the ne.\t engage- 
ment. They were at \'icksburg under Gen- 



eral Grant, and after the famous surrender 
were detached to Jackson, Miss., thence to the 
Yazoo River, and subsequently to Cincinnati, 
whence they marched down to Paris, Ky., 
being the first Mas.sachusetts regiment to 
enter the Blue Grass State. From Paris they 
marched over the Cumberland Mountains to 
Kno.willc, Tenn., and participated in the 
battle of l*"ort Saunders. The taking of Port 
Saunders ended .Major Dotcn's camjiaigning 
for a while; for, weakened by the .Soutiiern 
scourge, fever and ague, he was obiig<*d to 
return home. As soon as able, he returned to 
the army, but saw no more active service. 
Discharged in 1864, with the rank of Brevet- 
Major, he was commissioned by Governor An- 
drew to recruit a regiment in Tennessee; but 
his family were so opposed to his going that 
he yielded to their entreaties and remained 
at home. 

Major Doten was married in September, 
1836, to Miss Abbie D. Virgin, of Plymouth, 
who died April 19, 1844. She was the 
mother of three children, one of whom sur- 
vives; namel)', Priscilla A., who married 
Nelson R. Scovel, of Albany, N'.\'., but is 
now residing at Mattapan, Mass. In 1848 he 
was again marrieil to Laura M., daughter of 
.Gorham Lane, of Lancaster, N.I I. 

Major Doten represented the town of Plym- 
outh in the State legislature iluring the 
years 1S58 and 1859. He cast his first Presi- 
dential vote for Martin Van Buren, anil since 
early manhood has been a strong Republican. 
The Major has no desire for public office, and 
has refused to accept nomination; but he was 
Registrar of Probate some seven years, being 
appointed in 1856 uniler Governor Gardner, 
and was Collector of the port of Plymouth for 
seven years. He was instrumental in organiz- 
ing Collingwood Post, No. 76, Grand Army 
of the Republic, his name heading the list of 



20 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



members, and he was the first Commander of 
the post. He is now a member of the Grand 
Encampment. A Master Mason for many 
years, he is a member of I'lymouth Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M. He helped to organize Samo- 
set Chapter in 1873, and, in recognition of 
his services as its first and only Secretary, 
was presented by the chapter in 1890 with an 
elegant diamond-studded charm. As a Knight 
Templar he belongs to the Old Colony Com- 
mandery at Abington. 

The first Odd Fellow in I'lymouth, having 
been initiated in 1844 at Bangor, Me., he 
helped to organize Mayflower Lodge in his 
native town, of which he was the first Vice 
Grand and the second Noble Grand, and is the 
only surviving charter member. He is also 
a member of Sagamore Encampment, and was 
District Grand Deputy to the Grand ICncamp- 
ment in 1872. 

In the early days of temperance reform he 
was an active worker for the cause of prohibi- 
tion, and was largely instrumental in organiz- 
ing the Plymouth branch of the Sons of Tem- 
perance, established in 1847, being appointed 
D. G. W. P. Major Doten attends the Uni- 
tarian Church. His whole life has been char- 
acterized by self-reliance and fearlessness in 
danger; and as an incident of his dashing 
bravery it is related that when he was a 
young man he helped to rescue si.K of a ship- 
wrecked crew, battling a heavy surf in a life- 
boat. 

ILLIAM E. REALS, a member of 
the firm of Reals & Orcutt, prosper- 
ous merchants of Rrockton, was 
born in Middleboro, Mass., June 11, 1855, 
son of Isaac and Lavinia (VValdron) Reals. 
The family originated with John Reals, who in 
1639 settled in Hingham, where several gen- 
erations of it have lived and died. Some of 




the race settled in Stoughton, and of that 
branch William E. is a descendant. The 
family has given to politics and science sev- 
eral noted men. William E. Reals"s grand- 
father, Isaac, a son of Isaac Reals, was born 
in Stoughton, and died in Ro.xbury compara- 
tively young. He married Cynthia Keith, 
who also was a member of one of the old fami- 
lies of this county. Isaac Reals, Jr., father of 
William K., was in the shoe business during 
the greater part of his life, and for some time 
was foreman of a leather room. He died at 
the age of forty-two. His wife was a daugh- 
ter of Rillings and Polly (Briggs) Waldron. 
Mr. Waldron was an extensive farmer, and a 
prominent resident of Dighton, Mass. Isaac 
Reals, Jr., and his wife reared two children, 
namely: William E., the subject of this 
sketch; and Alice, the widow of Clement D. 
Gardner, of Rrockton. 

William E. Reals accjuired his education in 
the schools of Middleboro and Rrockton. 
When fifteen years of age, he commenced to 
work for his living in the shoe factory of Peleg 
Leach, of Rrockton, and was employed there 
for three years in the cutting-room. He was 
subsecpiently engaged in the sole-leather rootn 
of Martin Wilds, in Calkins's manufactory, 
and in the grocery store of Thompson & Pack- 
ard, si.\' months previous to their failure. 
After this he worked in the shoe store of Joel 
T. Packard for eight months, and in the same 
place, after George H. Jameson became the 
proprietor, for eleven years. Mr. Reals then 
started in business with William D. Wilder as 
partner, the firm name being Reals & Wilder. 
The partnership was dissolved at the end of 
three years, and Hosea M. Orcutt took Mr. 
Wilder's place. Under Mr. Reals's able and 
judicious management their trade has in- 
creased from year to year. The present store 
is twice the size of the original one. They 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



keep fresh and seasonable goods, and deal 
honestly and courteously with customers. A 
self-made man in all respects, Mr. Heals fully 
merits the esteem generally accorded to him. 
He has been a resident of this place since 
October 14, 1865. 

Mr. Heals was married January 11, iS.So, 
to Carrie, daughter of Horace Heals, a distant 
connection. He has two children : Arthur l-L., 
fifteen years of age, attending the Hrockton 
High School; and Edgar N., a pupil of the 
Winthrop School in this city. Mr. Heals 
votes the Republican ticket, but takes no 
active part in politics. He was Chaplain of 
Paul Revere Lodge, A. V. & A. M., of 
Hrockton, and is a member of the Patrons of 
Husbandry of Hrookville. As a member 
of the PVanklin Methodist Episcopal Church 
he has held every office, except that of class 
leader, being at ]5resent Trustee, Steward, 
Secretary of the Quarterly Conference, and a 
teacher in the Sunday-school. At one time 
he officiated as first superintendent of the 
Sunday-school. He is Secretary and Treas- 
urer of the Methodist Social Union; a mem- 
ber of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, of wjiich he has been Director; and a 
zealous member of the Epworth League, in 
whicii be has held various important offices. 




"1:NRV L. CRANP:, Town Clerk and 
Treasurer of Hridgewater, is also a 
L^ * member of the firm Crane & Hurrill, 
who are successful merchants of this town. 
He was born here, January 31, i860, son of 
the Hon. Joshua Eddy and Lucy A. (Reed) 
Crane. His grandfather on the paternal side, 
also named Joshua Eddy, was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War. 

The Hon. Joshua E. Crane was born and 
reared in Herkeley, Mass. In 184S he ob- 



tained a clerkship in a store at Hridgewater. 
Within a year or two from that time he started 
a iiusiness of his own at the stand now occu- 
pied by his successors, Crane & Hurrill. 
Here he conducted a prosperous business until 
the month of August, 1888, when he died. 
His career as a business man was marked by 
probity and good judgment, and he was elected 
to a number of offices of trust. lie was a 
Trustee of the Hridgewater Academy, of the 
Hridgewater Savings Hank, and of the Plym- 
outh County Agricultural Society. He was a 
stanch Republican, and served the community 
for a number of years as Town Clerk. He 
also representetl the district in the Lower 
House of the State legislature and in the 
State Senate. Mr. Crane was a member of 
the Congregational church, and a Mason in 
good standing. His w-ife, who was born in 
Weymouth, Mass., in 1.S25, is a member of 
an old and highly respected Weymouth fam- 
ily. Quincy Reed, her father, and his 
brother were pioneer shoe manufacturers of 
Massachusetts. She now resides in Hriilge- 
water, and is also a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. She has borne the following 
children, namely: Joshua K., the City Libra- 
rian of Taunton, Mass. ; Charles R., who is 
in the leather business in Boston, and resides 
i in Hridgewater; Moulton E. ; Annie H., a 
music teacher residing in Hridgewater; and 
Henry L., the subject of this sketch. 

Henry L. Crane was educated in the public 
schools and at the Hridgewater Academy. 
He went to work in his father's store when 
sixteen years old, and literally "grew up in 
the business," becoming familiar with all its 
details. After his father's death he formed a 
partnership with Henry T. liurrill, and for 
eight years the firm of Crane & Hurrill has 
taken a leading part in the mercantile life of 
l^ridgewater. Mr. Crane was married in 1884 



22 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to Lizzie A. Cole, daughter of Cliarles H. 
Cole, of Brockton, Mass. In politics he 
favors the Republican side. First elected- 
Town Clerk and Treasurer, respectively in 
iSS/and i88S, he has been re-elected every 
year since to both offices. An active member 
of the Masonic brotherhood, he is Past Master 
of Fellowship Lodge, of Rridgewater, Past 
High Priest of Harmony Chapter, and a mem- 
ber of Bay State Commandery at Brockton, 
Mass. He is a member of Pioneer Lodge, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of Bridge- 
water, having the rank of Noble Grand. 
Endowed with much natural ability and pleas- 
ing social qualities, he is respected as a busi- 
ness man, and esteemed as a member of so- 
ciety. 



<^*^» 



|LISHA T. HARVILL, Treasurer of the 
Rockland Welt Company, is one of the 
old and influential business men of 
Rockland. He was born in South Weymouth, 
Mass., December 19, 1841, son of Arterius 
and Caroline (Thayer) Harvill. Arterius 
Harvill, who was a native of the State of 
Maine and a mechanic, died at the age of 
seventy-five. His wife, a native of Holbrook, 
Mass., passed away in her fifty-first year. 
They were the parents of five children, three 
of whom attainetl maturity. These were: 
Augu.sta, Anna, and the subject of our sketch. 
Losing his parents when quite young, Elisha 
T. Harvill was thrown on his own resources at 
an age when most boys are tiiinking of nothing 
but play. He was then bound out to a farmer 
in East Abington until he was sixteen years 
old. In that period he attended school only 
during the three winter months. After leav- 
ing the farm he worked in a shoe shop in 
Rockland. In 1861, at the outbreak of the 
Rebellion, he enlisted in Company G, Forty- 
third Massachusetts \'olunteer Infantry, and 



later in Company A, Sixtieth Massachusetts . 
Regiment. He served for a year and a half 
in the North Carolina campaign: and, though 
he participated in no great battle, he experi- 
enced all the hardships of a soldier's life, 
marching and countermarching on bad roads 
in all kinds of weather, running the gauntlet 
of rebel ambuscades, standing fire in skir- 
mishes, and fighting against the lassitude 
caused by the enervating climate of the South. 
During a large part of the time he was en- 
gaged in guarding property and persons. On 
his return he engaged once more in the shoe 
business. Thereafter, solely by his own ef- 
forts, he acquired a large business and a place 
among the leading financiers of the county. 
The Rockland Welt Company is an enterprise 
of his. Its main business is now managed by 
others, but as Treasurer Mr. Harvill looks 
after its financial interests. He retired from 
business about two years ago, after having 
manufactured shoes for twenty-three years. 
As a financier be has many interests, both in 
Massachusetts and elsewhere. For the past 
ten years he has been President of the Rock- 
land Savings Bank. He has been a Director 
of the Rockland National Bank since its or- 
ganization, about eight years ago. He is 
President of the Rockland Building Associa- 
tion ; and it is known that he is President of 
a corporation controlling a paper pulp-mill 
in Maine, a large enterprise employing two 
hundred men. 

On November 12, 1865, Mr. Harvill mar- 
ried Miss Caroline Packard, of Charlestovvn, 
Mass., and he has now one child, Esther T. , 
born October 30, 1873. Politically, he favors 
the Republican side, and he takes a deep in- 
terest in public affairs. I'or some time he 
has been on the Board of Water Commis- 
sioners. He is a member of the Rockland 
Commercial Club, of which he has filled the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



23 



President's chair; and lie has been Com- 
mander of llaitsulf I'ost, No. 74, Grand Army 
of the Re])ublic. 




I'.TII SI'RAGUl':, the Postmaster of 
llin^ham Centre, was born here on 
St. Valentine's Day, 1837, son of 
Daniel and Tamar (Stoder) Sprague, of IUhl;- 
ham. 

Josiah, his grandfather, was twice married, 
the second wife having been a sister of the 
first. Daniel Sprague, Josiah's second child 
by the second wife, Su.san (Whiten) Sprague, 
was a tanner and currier for many years in this 
town, where he was born. He continued to 
work at his trade until the time of his death, 
which hapjiened at the age of eighty-seven 
years. His wife, Tamar, had ten children, 
si.\ of whom are living. Three died in early 
life; and I'ranklin died in August, 1896, at 
the age of seventy-one years. The surviving 
chiUlren are: Emeline A., Daniel \\'., Josiah, 
Seth, Susan \V., and Henry. h'.meline mar- 
ried Loring Jacobs, of this town. Josiah has 
been twice married. His first wife,- Adrian 
(Lincoln) Sprague, had one child, l-'reil 1,. 
I lis secontl wife, in maidenhooil Sarah Leavitt, 
also had one child, Myra. Susan VV. married 
R. H Carthell, of this town, and they have 
one child, Susie L. Daniel. The father, 
Daniel Sprague, was an old-time Whig in pol- 
itics. ]?otli he and his wife were members of 
the Unitarian church. .She died in August, 
1893, at the age of ninety-one. 

Seth Sprague, after obtaining his education 
in the schools of his native town, learned the 
carriage and house-painting trade, and subse- 
quently followed it until 1882. He was sub- 
sequently engaged in the jjaper-hanging busi- 
ness for six years. In 1S88 he was appointed 
Postmaster, which position he still satisfacto- 



rily fills. His political view -point is Kepiibli- 
can. He has been a member of Old Colony 
Lodge, A. I". & A. M., since 1866. On Oc- 
tober 5, 1862, Mr. Sprague was united in mar- 
riage with Melissa Sprague, daughter of Josiah 
W. Sprague, of Gardiner, Me. They have 
had three chiUlren ; namely, Charles V.., Wal- 
lace W., and Marion W. Charles and Wallace 
died when young. 



Tu^OHICRT H. PACKARD, a well-to-do 
I ^^ farmer of Urockton, and a descendant 
^ V_^ of one of the earliest families of 
North Hridgcwater, was born April 29, 1S32, 
upon the farm he now owns and occupies, son 
of Robert and Betsey (Howard) I'ackard. He 
is a descendant in the si.xth generation of the 
original settler of the Packard homestead. 
His grandfather, Robert Packard, who in his 
turn inherited the property, and carried on 
farming during the active period of his life, 
was an active member of the Orthoilox church, 
a Captain of militia, and a |5rominent man in 
his day. 

Robert Packard (second), Mr. Packard's 
father, was born in Nortii' Pridgewatcr, and 
occupied the homestead farm. One of the 
stirring and successful farmers of his day, and 
a useful and highly respected citizen, he kept 
the ancestral estate in an excellent condition. 
His wife, Betsey, who was a native of Mon- 
tello, the northern ]5art of this town, became 
the mother of four children, of whom the onlv 
survivor is Robert IL. the subject of this 
sketch. 

Robert II. Packard attentled the common 
schools of North Bridgewater for the usual 
period. His education was afterward com- 
pleted at the Loomis Academy. He began 
life as a farmer at the homestead, where he 
has always resided. Here he zealously sus- 



24 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tains the reputation of his predecessors by 
keeping his property up to a high standard, 
thereby making it one of the best and most 
profitable estates in this locality. 

In 1857 Mr. Packard wedded Ellen A. 
Howard, a daughter of Lewis Howard, of 
North Bridgewater. Mrs. Packard is now the 
mother of two children, namely: Walter T., 
who resides at home; and Lizzie J., who was 
married in June, 1885, to Harry Dunbar, of 
West Bridgewater, and now resides in Brock- 
ton, close by the homestead. In politics 
Mr. Packard supports the Republican party, 
and he is a member of the Orthodox church. 
He is also a charter member of the West 
Brid<j;e\yatcr Grange. 




LBERT GARDNER BOYDEN, son 

of Phineas and Harriet (Carroll) Boy- 
den, was born in South Walpole, 
Norfolk County, Mass., P^'bruary 5, 1827. 
His father was a man of sterling worth, and 
by trade a blacksmith. His mother was a 
woman of fine character, and set before her 
children the ideal of a noble life. Albert 
was the olde.st of a family of three sons and 
three daughters. Erom his early boyhood he 
was required to rise early, and be actively 
employed until bed-time. He was a leader in 
the sports of his fellows, and knew the prod- 
ucts of all the fields, woods, and streams in 
the neighborhood of his native village. He 
attended the district school summer and win- 
ter until ten years of age, and in winter until 
eighteen. At fourteen years of age he de- 
cided to be a teacher. Strongly desiring to 
go to college, but unable to get the funds, he 
gave his evenings to study, determined to do 
what he could for himself. He worked on the 
farm and in his father's blacksmith shop until, 
at twenty-one years of age, he had mastered 



the trade, and in the mean time had taught 
three winters in the town of Fo.xboro. On 
reaching his majority he had good health, 
good habits, his trade, and the assurance of 
success in teaching. 

Having saved some money toward paying 
his expenses, Mr. Boyden entered the State 
Normal School at Bridgewater, paying the 
remainder by serving as janitor. He was 
graduated from this schooK in November, 

1849, and taught a grammar school in Hing- 
ham during the next winter. He received 
the appointment of assistant teacher in the 
Bridgewater State Normal School in July, 

1850, and held the position three years, under 
the wise counsel and sympathetic help of the 
distinguished founder of the school, Nicholas 
Tillinghast; was principal of the English 
High School for Boys in Salem three years ; 
sub-master of the Chapman Grammar School, 
Boston, one year; first assistant again in the 
Bridgewater Normal School three and one- 
half years, under the able tuition of the second 
principal, Marshall Conant; was appointed 
principal of the school in August, i860, and 
received the honorary degree of Master of Arts 
from Amherst College. He was a diligent 
student, studying under private tutors, and 
during the time he was assistant in the Nor- 
mal School he was called upon to teach nearly 
all the branches of the course, and to make a 
careful study of the principles and method of 
teaching. He started in life with the deter- 
mination to do everthing intrusted to him 
with the best of his ability, and has never 
sought a position as teacher. 

Mr. Boyden has filled tlie position of princi- 
pal of the Bridgewater Normal School with 
eminent ability and fidelity. Under him the 
number of students has steadily increased, the 
course of study has been expanded, the build- 
ing, grounds, and equipments of the school 




-/*^J^^. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



27 



have been greatly enlarged, and the profes- 
sional spirit of the school has been greatly 
developed. In the fall term of i860, when he 
assumed ciiarge, there were sixty-seven pupils. 
In the fall term of 1894 there were two hun- 
chcil and fifty-three. In i860 the course of 
study extended tlirough three terms of twenty 
weeks each. At the present time four courses 
are in operation: a two years' course, a four 
years' course, a post-graduate course for col- 
lege graduates, and special courses for teachers 
of long experience. 

Tiie first six years of its life the school held 
its sessions in tlie Town Hall. In 1846 it 
moved into a new building, the first State 
Normal School building erected in America. 
In 1S61 this building was enlarged, increas- 
ing its capacity seventy per cent. In 1871 
tlie building was again enlarged by adding a 
third story. In 1881 a building for chemical, 
physical, and industrial laboratories was built. 
In 1890 these buildings were removed, and a 
massive brick structure, eighty-six feet in 
front by one hundred and eighty-seven feet in 
length, three stories above the basement, was 
erected. In 1894 this building was extended, 
increasing its capacity fifty percent. In 1869 
the boarding department of the school became 
a necessity, and a residence hall was erected, 
accommodating fifty-two students and the 
family of the principal. In 1873 ■'^ was en- 
larged to accommodate one hundred and forty- 
eight students. In 1891 the laboratory build- 
ing was converted into a residence hall, 
accommodating thirty-two students. The 
present school building, with its equipments, 
is not sur[)assed by any normal-school build- 
ing in the country in its adaptation to its pur- 
pose. It will accommodate two hundred and 
fifty normal students and a practice school of 
five hundred pupils. The grounds liave been 
increased from one and one-quarter acres to 



sixteen acres, including a beautiful jiark and 
grove of six and one-half acres. 

Mr. Boyden has given his best thought to 
the study of man, to find the principles of edu- 
cation which determine the method of all true 
teaching, and, to the ajiplication of these prin- 
ciples in co-ordinating the work of the school, 
to make it a thorough normal training school 
in all its course. He has sought, with the 
more than thirty-five hundred pupils who have 
come under tuition in his school, to set before 
them a high ideal of what life should be, to 
awaken the conscience to the responsibilities 
of the teacher, to give them command of them- 
selves, of the philo.sophy of teaching, and of 
the subjects to be used in teaching, and such 
a knowledge of children that they shall be 
able to practise wisely the art of teaching. 

The school has a national reputation. Its 
graduates are engaged in all lines of educa- 
tional work — as teachers in common, high, 
anti normal schools, as superintendents of 
schools. State agents, and State superintend- 
ents. Some have become prominent as law- 
yers, [ihysicians, clergymen, and in business. 
Many as wives and mothers exert a strong 
educational influence. Some are missionaries 
in di.stant lands. 

As teacher and citizen, .Mr. Hoyden is held 
in the highest esteem. He has been President 
of the Plymouth County Teachers' Associa- 
tion, of the Massachusetts Teachers' Associa- 
tion, of the Massachusetts Schoolmasters' 
Club, of the New England Normal Council; 
\^ice-President of the American Institute of 
Instruction; Secretary of the National Council 
of Education; Trustee of the liridgewater 
Savings Hank; clerk of Central .Square Con- 
gregational Society since 1863; President of 
the Old Colony Congregational Club; editor 
of .Uass(i<//u.u/h- Tiachcr\ and author of 
numerous educational addresses. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Boyden was married in Newport, Me., 
November 1 8, 1851, to Isabella Whitten 
Clarke, daughter of Thomas and Martha Lou- 
isa (Whitten) Clarke. Miss Clarke was a 
graduate of the 15ridgewater Normal school, 
and a successful teacher. Of this union were 
three sons: Arthur Clarke Boyden, A.M., 
Vice-President Bridgewater Normal School ; 
Walter Clarke Boyden, who died in infancy; 
and Wallace Clarke Boyden, A.M., sub- 
master Boston Normal .School. 

Mr. Boyden has been invited to take charge 
of normal schools in other States, with larger 
compensation, but has preferred to remain in 
Bridgewater that he might carry forward his 
plans for the development of this school. 



/ SJeORGE a. wood, proprietor of one 
V P I of the best markets in Brockton, was 
born in Westport, Bristol County, 
Mass., January 26, 1857, son of Alexander 
and Bathana B. (Manley) Wood. The Wood 
family, which is an old one, was connected 
with that of Captain Miles Standish, "the 
doughty warrior of Plymouth." Mr. Wood is 
of the third generation of his family born in 
Westport, that place having been also the 
birthplace of his grandfather. Captain Nathan, 
who was a son of William Wood. The Cap- 
tain devoted much of his life to the pursuit of 
agriculture. He was one of the prominent 
citizens of Westport, held several town offices, 
and commanded a company of State militia. 
He lived to attain the advanced age of eighty- 
nine. Annie Gifford, of Westport, became 
his wife, and bore him six children — Alex- 
ander, Nancy, Clarinda, Amanda, Angeline, 
and Nathan W. 

Alexander Wood was born in Westport, and 
educated in the common schools of the town. 
He learned the cooper's trade, and went to sea 



as cooper on a whaling- vessel. Attracted by 
the adventurous life, he learned the principles 
of navigation, and was subsequently first 
officer of a vessel for a number of years. At 
the age of thirty-nine, having followed the sea 
for twenty years, he retired and settled on a 
farm at Westport Point, where he died at the 
age of seventy-three. His wife, who was a 
daughter of John Manley, of Little Compton, 
R.I., died at the age of sixty-two. 'He had 
seven children, three of whom are living. 

George A. Wood attended the common 
schools of Westport until fifteen years of age. 
He then took up the business of designing and 
engraving on silver, at the same time attend- 
ing the Taunton Art School. He was with 
the Taunton Silver Plate Company about five 
years, at the end of which they went out of 
business. Then for three years he was in the 
employ of the Meriden Britannia Company of 
Connecticut. His next engagement was as 
foreman of a room for Steen, Son, & Hall, 
successors to the Taunton Silver Plate Com- 
pany, the establishment being in New York 
City. Having remained five years with them, 
he, in September, 1884, opened a meat market 
at his present location in Brockton, in partner- 
ship with D. ¥. Hathaway, of Fall River. 
The firm, which was known as Wood & Hath- 
away, was dissolved at the end of two years, 
Mr. Wood purchasing his partner's interest, 
and since that time he has carried on the busi- 
ness alone. He now employs four clerks, and 
uses three delivery teams. He has also an in- 
terest in the Brockton Building Association. 

In November, 1S78, Mr. Wood was married 
to Mary J. Davol, daughter of Albert D. 
Davol, of Taunton, Mass. They have had 
four children, namely: Harold A., who at- 
tends the Brockton High School, and is a 
member of the High School Cadets; Bessie 
May, who died in infancy; Plorence D. , now 



mOCKAI'lIlCAI, KKVIKW 



'9 



fiijlit years old; and Mildred H., aj;ed five. 
In politics Mr. Wood is a Republican. 
Thoiij^h taking an active interest in political 
alfairs. lie has not accepted ])iiliiic office, pre- 
ferring to devote his time to his business. He 
is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M.: of Massoit Lodge, Inde])endent Order 
of Odd I'ellows; of Uamocles Lodge, No. |6, 
Knights of I'ythias. of which he was Treasurer 
for a number of years; of Brockton Division, 
No. II. Uniform Rank, Hrockton Council, 
Royal Arcanum, of which he is also Trustee; 
a charter member of the Senate of the Ancient 
Ivssenic Order, and a Trustee of the I'^irst 
Hoard; and a charter member of LI Katif 
Temple, No. 44, Knights of Karassum. 
W'iiile in Taunton he was connected with the 
Taunton Hook and Ladder Company some 
three years, and was Sergeant of the Taunton 
City Guards. When he left the State for New 
York he severed his connection with the mili- 
tia. He is now an associate member of 
T'letcher Webster Post, No. 13, (irand Army 
of the Republic, of Brockton. Mr. Wood 
attends the Universal ist church, and has for a 
number of years been a contributor to the 
\'oung Men's Christian Association, which 
has done much for him. His business success 
is due entirely to his owai exertions, as he has 
never received any outside help. 




ILLIAM AUGUSTUS THOMP- 
SON, a prosperous farmer of Hrock- 
ton, and a representative of an old 
and highly reputable family of this section, 
was born in North Bridgewater, now Brockton, | 
December 14, 1824, son of John and Sarah ; 
(Jones) Thompson. The family is of Irish 
origin. Its founder in America was Archibald 
Thompson, who, with his wife and son, emi- 
grated from the north of Ireland in 1724. and 1 



first settled in Abington, this county. A 
short time later he moved to Bridgewater, and 
was one of the first settlers in the North 
I'arish. It is claimed that he made the first 
spinning-wheel constructed in New Kngland. 
He died in 1776, aged eighty-five. He reared 
a family of eight children, of whom Thomas, 
the second born, was William A. Thompson's 
great-grandfather. In 1754 Thomas Thomp- 
son married Llizabeth Strowbridge, and he 
died May 28, 18 10, aged eighty-one years. 
His wife died October 18, 181 1, aged seventy- 
nine. Of their eight children. Captain 
Thomas, the si.\th born, was William A. 
Thompson's grandfather. 

Captain Thomas Thompson was born in 
North Bridgewater, July 4, 1767. He was 
engaged in farming and the manufacture of 
s])inning-wheels, and died November 10, 1835, 
aged si.Kty-eight years. On August 5, 1792, 
he wedded Martha Kingman, daughter of 
Matthew Kingman, and she became the mother 
of six children; namely, John, Charlotte, 
Sophronia, Jane S. , Martha Kingman, and 
John (second). The mother died December 
28, 1 840, aged seventy-five years. John 
Thompson, Mr. Thompson's father, was born 
in North Bridgewater, March 16, 1795. He 
was engaged in tilling the soil during the ac- 
tive period of his life, and died May 25, 1866, 
aged seventy-one years. His wife, Sarah, 
whom he married November 18, 1S19, was a 
daughter of " Captain Asa Jones. She died 
I'^ebruary 20, 1853, aged fifty-three years, 
leaving one son, William A., tlie subject of 
this sketch. 

William Augustus Thompson received his 
education in the common schools of North 
Bridgewater and at a private school in Shrews- 
bury, Mass. He has followed agricultural 
pursuits since young manhooti, and owns a 
farm containing seventy acres of e.xcellent 



3° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tillage land. lie works occasionally in his 
sons' shoe factory, as the opportunity serves; 
but his time and attention arc chiefly devoted 
to his farm, which he carries on very success- 
fully. 

In 1844 Mr. Thompson was united in mar- 
riage to Almira J. Hayward, of Bi'ockton, by 
whom he became the father of five children. 
These were : George Hayward, who was born 
September 27, 1848; Alma, who was born 
September 26, 1851, and died September 6, 
1852; Abby, who was twin sister of Alma, 
and died June 28, 1852; John Franklin, who 
was born .Se]itember 9, 1857; and Sarah Rus- 
sell, who was born November Q, 1861. Mrs. 
Thompson died August 27, 1S83, aged fifty- 
eight years and three months. George H. 
and John F. Thompson, under the firm name 
of Thompson Brothers, conduct a shoe factory 
near the family residence. The father is a 
Republican in politics. His ancestors were 
noted for ability, thrift, and industry — the 
characteristics of himself and his sons. 




^(^-^AMUEL L. BEAL, A.M., an en- 
terprising business man of Brock- 
ton, was born in Jefferson township, 
Switzerland County. Ind., June 24, 1840, son 
of Lewis W. and Mary (Lester) Beal. After 
acquiring his elementary education in his na- 
tive place, he prepared for college at Hills- 
dale, Mich. Graduating from the F"ree Bap- 
tist College there in 1868, he entered the 
Congregational Theological .Seminary at 
Bangor, Me. Here, before he had finished 
the course, his religious opinions underwent a 
change, and he completed his theological 
course at St. Lawrence (Universalist) Uni- 
versity at Canton, N.Y., graduating in the 
class of 1870. 

His first pastoral charge was the Universal- 



ist church at Westminster, Mass., which was 
under his direction some two and a half years. 
Flis next was the Universalist Church at 
Provincetown, this State. Here he had spent 
two years and a half, when he resigned. 
Later, complying with a recall, he labored 
there for six months more. On April 12, 
1876, he moved to Brockton, and, about a year 
after, he became connected with the Universal- 
ist Society, which, at that time was ruptured 
by internal schisms. Mr. Beal took the rem- 
nants of the society, founded an independent 
movement, and for six years was engaged here 
in active and unceasing labor. During three 
summers of that time he preached also at 
South Easton for the Unitarians, and in Avon 
to a small independent congregation. The 
severe strain caused his voice to fail him, and 
his physician advised him to abandon the 
pulpit. He followed this advice, and was 
afterward engaged for some time in book can- 
vassing. He then became interested in 
Spiritualism in Brockton, and about the year 
1884 joined the ranks of the .Spiritualists. In 
this new field he became as enthusiastic and 
energetic as in his former charges. During 
the past six years he has presided at different 
Spiritualist camp meetings at Ocean Grove, 
Harwichport, and has spent much time in the 
lecture field. Mr. Beal also acts as agent for 
several property owners, and is the proprietor 
of a news-stand and a circulating*library. In 
connection with his newspaper business he 
sells about five hundred papers daily, em- 
ploying several boys on paper routes. 

On March 27, 1875, Mr. Beal was united in 
marriage with Lizzie P., daughter of Albert 
and Martha Johnson Sweetser, of Province- 
town, Mass. The union has been blessed by 
four children. Their eldest son graduated 
from the Brockton High School in 1895, and 
is now studying at Brown University; the 



BIOGRAPIIIC.M, REVIFAV 



3' 



eldest daughter graduated from the high 
school in 1896; and the other children are at- 
tending school in this city. Mr. Heal votes 
the I'rohibitiun ticket. In Westminster and 
Brockton he has served on the school Commit- 
tee, lie has been Assessor of Hrockton since 
i8gi. In the temperance movement he has 
taken a [irominent part, and was nominateil by 
the Prohibition I'arty for Mayor at one time. 
He is a member of the Independent Order of 
Good Temiilars in this city, and was Chaplain 
of the Grand Lodge at one time. lie was 
made a Mason at Gardiner, Mass., and took 
chapter degrees at I'rovincetown. lie has also 
aflRliation with Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, In- 
ile|)L'ndent Order of Odd Fellows, of Brockton. 



'O.SIAH A. TORREY, a well-known 
manufacturer and merchant of Rock- 
land, was born December 31, 1835, 
son of Josiah and Elizabeth D. (Ivstes) Tor- 
rey, both natives of Plymouth County. The 
family is a distinguished one, and of luiglish 
extraction. Its founder was Captain Will- 
iam Torrey, of Combe, St. Nicholas, County 
of Somerset, England, who settled in the 
town of North Weymouth as far back as 1640, 
and established the family seat, where his 
descendants have since resided. 

Phillip Torrey, the great-grandfather of Jo- 
siah A., was a farmer of North \Ve\-minith. in 
which place he s|)ent most of his life. llis 
son William, the grandfather, who was there 
born and educated, married Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Captain David llersey, of Abington. 

Josiah Torrey. William's son, also a native 
of Abington, was born November 29, 1798, 
and spent all his life in that place. At first 
a farmer, he subsequently engaged in the 
manufacture of soap. He married Elizabeth 
D. Estes, a native of Hanover, Mass., who 



came of good Italian ancestry, and was a 
woman of great i)ersonal attractions through- 
out her life. Horn thirteen years later than 
her husband, she survived him thirteen years, 
and died as he did, at the age of eighty-one, 
havjng been the mother of thirteen children. 
Eight of the children are living; naniel\-, 
Mary L., Josiah A., Ann E., Hattic R., Clara, 
William, Ella, and Ruth. 

Josiah A. Torrey, the eldest surviving son 
of his parents, was brought up on a farm of 
his father's in the town of Rockland. His 
opportunities for obtaining an education were 
somewhat limited, as he had to spend much of 
his time helping on the farm. He attended 
the district schools each winter during his 
early boyhood, thereby obtaining a foundation 
for the knowledge that he afterward acquired. 
He worked with his father on his farm and in 
the soap factory until he was twenty-one years 
old, when he was made a partner in the latter 
concern. At his father's death he succeeded 
to the business, and has since been the sole 
proprietor. The factory is in a flourishing 
condition, and has proved a most profitable 
investment. He is also interested in the 
Rockland National Hank, of which he is a 
Director, and in the Rockland Savings Hank, 
of which he is President. 

Mr. Torrey married Arabella Grover, of 
Hethel, Me., and by her became the father of 
four chiUlren. These were: J. Carlton, who 
was a civil engineer by profession, and died a 
victim of overwork; Arthur E., who is a ma- 
chinist, and resides in Rockland; Harry A., a 
market gardener of Rockland; and Lena G. , 
who resides at home. In his jiolitics Mr. 
Torrey is a strong Republican, and a stanch 
upholder of the temperance cause. He was 
formerly a Selectman, and was Assessor for 
four years. He is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church. Hoth he and his wife regularly 



32 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



attend the Congregational church, of which he 
is a member. He belongs to Standish Lodge, 
Independent Order of Odd l<'ellows. 




ILLIyXM \V. CROSS is the senior 
member of the firm of VV. W. Cross 
& Co., tack manufacturers, of 
Brockton, Mass., one of the leading industrial 
concerns of this thriving business centre. 
He was born in North Bridgewater (now 
Brockton), November 20, 1833, the son of 
Nathaniel H. and Lucy (Vose) Cross, and is 
a member of an olil New England family. 

His paternal grandfather, Captain Nathan- 
iel Cross, came from E.xeter, N.H., to the 
vicinity of Brockton, early in the century. 
Nathaniel H. Cross, son of Captain Nathan- 
iel, was born in East Bridgewater, October 
II, 1803. He was an ambitious and enter- 
prising man, and tried more than one way of 
earning a livelihood, engaging for a while in 
the manufacture of carriages, and subse- 
quently managing a store and a hotel. Active 
in public affairs, he was captain of a fire 
engine company, was a member of the North 
Bridgewater Board of Selectmen, and was for 
a time Postmaster of the town. He died at 
the age of thirty-nine. His wife, a daughter 
of Elijah and Catherine (Cobb) Vose, of Bos- 
ton, died May 4. 1896, at the advanced age of 
eighty-nine. 

William W. Cross attended school for a 
while in his native town, and went at the age 
of nine to live with an aunt at Westminster, 
Vt. He there worked on a farm for three 
years and three months, and then, returning 
home, found employment in the Boston Water 
Works at Needham, Mass., receiving" six dol- 
lars a month. He was employed in the water- 
works six months, and was then hired by Z. F. 
Brett, dry-goods merchant of Wareham, who 



gave him two hundred dollars a year, board, 
clothing, and two years' schooling. With 
steady perseverance he retained this position 
until twentv-one years and eight months of 
age, managing to save the greater part of his 
salary; and he then opened a dry-goods store 
of his own in Palmer, Mass., which he suc- 
cessfully managed until 1869. On the 23d of 
March, that year, he came to l^rockton (then 
North Bridgewater), and on April 15 he 
bought a tack factory on the site of his pres- 
ent building. Starting with nine machines, 
he gradually increased the amount to one hun- 
dred and twenty, and during the past year he 
has had all these machines in operation, run- 
ning overtime at the rate of a day and a quar- 
ter a week. In the twenty-seven years that he 
has been in this business he has not expended 
two hundred dollars to increase the sale of his 
goods, as his manufactures are of the highest 
grade only, and speak for themselves; and he 
is often obliged to run night and day to fill 
orders. He exports largely to England, Scot- 
land, Russia, and Germany. 

Mr. Cross was one of the first to become 
interested in the Brockton Street Railway 
when it was projected, buying a goodly 
amount of its stock. He became President of 
the company after the expiration of his term as 
Selectman of the town, having previously de- 
clined the office, and such was the benefit of 
his administration that when he came to sell 
his stock its value had risen to one hundred 
and fifty dollars a share. 

Mr. Cross was one of the four who con- 
ceived and carried out the idea of the City 
Theatre. He built the theatre, and is now 
one of its four owners. He has been Vice- 
President of the Brockton National Bank ever 
since its incorporation, and on its tenth birth- 
day he gave a dinner to the Board of Directors 
at Young's Hotel, Boston. He has been a 



% 




WILLIAM W. CROSS. 



BIOGRAPHICAI, REVIEW 



35 



Trustee of the Brockton Savings 15aiik from its 
beginning. In 1892 he was elected President 
of the Hoard of the Standard Rubber Com- 
pany, and held the position until January i, 
1896; and he has been Vice-President of the 
Brockton Agricultural Society from the date 
of its incor|)oration. He was one of the four 
original members who started the society, 
and purchased the twenty acres of land, which 
constituted the nucleus of its handsome 
grounds. Additional purchases have been made 
from time to time, and now the land alone is 
worth one hundred and twenty thousand dol- 
lars. The society has laid out over one hun- 
dred and thirty thousand dollars for construc- 
tion, and they find their venture a paying 
investment, for in four days in 1895 their 
gross receipts were forty-three thousand dol- 
lars. Mr. Cross takes a deep interest in the 
welfare of this society. 

He was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
J. Bartlett, of VVareham, Mass., on January 8, 
1855; and two children have blessed tiieir 
union. The elder, William B., who was born 
November 15, 1858, became his father's part- 
ner in 187S, and he has largcl)' increased the 
foreign trade of the firm. Tlie younger son, 
Charles L., was born in July, 1866, and died 
in November, 1S66. William B. Cross is a 
Director of the Brockton Agricultural Society. 

Mr. Cross is a strong Repu!)lican, but not 
an active political worker. When Brockton 
was known as the town of North l^ridgewater, 
he was Selectman for two years, and Water 
Commissioner for three years. One of the 
original Board of Construction of the water- 
works, he was activeh' iiiteresteil in their 
completion, and was elected to the Board of 
Commissioners as a man who understood the 
affairs, and would look after the town's best 
interests. He has been a Mason since 1856, 
when he joined the first lodge at Palmer, 



Mass., and he was made a Royal Arch Mason 
in Springfield, and a Knight Templar in 
Abington. He attends the Congregational 
church, contributing liberally to its support. 
As a self-made man, Mr. Cross has accom- 
plished a remarkable amount of work, with 
no backward slijis in his u|)ward career: and 
this brief sketch of his progress shows the 
power for success in tenacity of purpose, aided 
by the faculty of living within one's means, 
even though the means are small as his were 
in his early youth. 




HOMAS ARCHIBALD, an esteemed 
business man of Rockland, was born 
April 25, 1866, in Nova Scotia, of 
which Canadian province his parents, Samuel 
and Susan (Parker) Archibald, al.so were na- 
tives. Samuel Archibald is a 'manufacturer 
of fertilizers in his native country, and does 
a flourishing business. 

Thomas, who was one of seven children 
(five boys and two girls), received a good edu- 
cation in his native country. He was first 
em])loyed in a shoe store, where he served in 
the capacity of clerk. After remaining there 
for some time, he found employment with a 
large wholesale house as travelling salesman. 
Shortly after, his father engaged his sen'ices, 
and finallv took him into the firm, of which he 
has since remained a member. Of late years 
he has also been in business for himself. 
Coming to Rockland a few years ago, he 
started the manufacture of what are now known 
as the " IMack Band Cannon Crackers," which 
enterprise has been a ilecided success, and at- 
tests to his ingenuity and high business quali- 
ties. The goods attract a great amount of 
attention from dealers, and have a large sale. 
The business is conducted by Mr. Archibald, 
under the firm name of Archibald & Co. The 



36 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



other members of the firm reside in Nova 
Scotia. The machinery they use is of their 
own construction. One machine, the only 
one in the wcnid, commences, binds, and com- 
pletes the manufacture of a cannon cracker. 

On July IS, 1889, Mr. Archibald married 
Helen MacDonald, a native of Nova Scotia. 
He has two children — Margaret Helen, born 
July 22, 1890; and Mary Bowers Archibald, 
born June 10, 1893. Mr. Archibald and wife 
are members of the Congregational church. 




^ORTUS B. HANCOCK, a prominent 
resident of Brockton, engaged in 
the insurance and real estate busi- 
ness, was born in Coventry, Vt., February 19, 
1836, a son of James and Rebecca (Miller) 
Hancock. His branch of the Hancock family 
has been domesticated in this country since 
Colonial times. It was founded by Anthony 
Hancock, who came from England, and settled 
in Dorchester, Mass., in 1638, with William 
Sumner. At a later date he removed to 
Wrentham, Norfolk County, and in that town 
his second wife bore him a son, Anthony, Jr., 
in 1686. The latter was married in 1707 to 
Elizabeth Goddard, of Sherburne, Mass., and 
had a family of nine children. Of these, the 
youngest, Benjamin, who was born in 
Wrentham, June 15, 172S, married Patience 
Clark, June. 19, 175 1, and reared seven chil- 
dren. 

Benjamin's second child, Asa, the grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
in Wrentham, August 30, 1753, and settled on 
a farm in Surrey, N.H., about the year 1778- 
79. Asa Hancock married Abigail Shepard- 
son, of Cumberland, R.I., who bore him nine 
children, of whom James was the sixth. 
James Hancock was born in Surrey, N. H., 
May 25, 1788, and like the majority of the 



dwellers in that vicinity was a farmer. He 
was married August 24, 181 1, to Rebecca 
Miller, of Westminster, Mass., who shared 
with him tjie labor and care which were the 
lot of the hardy farmer in those days. In 
1818 James and his wife moved from West- 
moreland, N.H., to Coventry, Vt., taking 
nine days to m.ake the journey on an ox-sled, 
much of the way through a wild and unbroken 
country. Both are now deceased. Of their 
ten children Horace and Tortus B. are living. 
The others were: James S., Levi, Isaac M., 
Moses W. , Benjamin, Rebecca, Otis, and 
Steven B. 

Portus B. Hancock was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Coventry. In 1857, the year 
of his majority, he went to North Bridgewater, 
now Brockton, to work for his brother Moses, 
who was the first man to engage in the express 
business in that place, and remained with him 
until 1 86 1. Returning then to Coventry, he 
was, from that time until 1877, engaged in 
buying eggs, cattle, and butter from the 
farmers, and sending to town and city dealers. 
In the spring of 1878 he started in the produce 
business in Brockton, and in 1884 he turned 
his attention to the fire insurance business. 
From insuring real estate to buying and sell- 
ing it was but a step, and in 1889 his real es- 
tate business had reached large proportions. 
His first extensive deal was in connection with 
Cary Hill, now Beacon Hill. All the streets 
in that locality were built by Mr. Hancock, 
and he has sold over three hundred house lots 
there. Some time ago, in Whitman, he pur- 
chased Read Corner, with ten houses, some of 
which lie has sold on the instalment plan. 

Mr. Hancock was married in i860 to Sarah 
W. Hayward, daughter of Sumner A. Ha)'- 
ward. Mr. Hayward, who was one of the first 
insurance men of Brockton, managed a suc- 
cessful business for thirty years. Mr. Han- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



37 



cock has one child, Sumner ![., who was horn 
in Coventry, Vt., in 1876. He graduated at 
the Rrockton High School, and is now a mem- 
ber of the Cameron Wheel Compan)', the well- 
known bicycle firm of this city. In politics 
Mr. Portus B. Hancock is a Democrat. He 
has been in ofifice five years as Milk Inspector. 
A charter member of Damocles Lodge, No. 16, 
Knights of Pythias, he was one of the seventy- 
seven who came together in i8cS6 to form a 
lodge, and has held the ofifice of Trustee. He 
is also a member of Pequot Tribe, No. 35, 
I. O. R.M. ; of Campello Lodge, No. 227, In- 
dependent Order of Odd P'ellovvs; of the Es- 
senic Order, the Mayflower Colony of Pilgrim 
Fathers ; and the New England Order of Pro- 
tection. He attends religious worship at the 
Unity (l^iitarian) Church. 




[LLI'.RV C. DEAN, the active partner 
_^ of the tirm of A. C. Thompson & Co., 
proprietors of a planing and mould- 
ing mill in Hrockton, was born January 31, 
1863, in Seekonk, Mass., son of David VV. 
and Emil)' I"'. (Cushing) Dean. He comes of 
old New ICngland stock by both father and 
mother. The Deans belonged in Raynham, 
Mass., where David \\'. was Ijorn and spent 
the early jiart of his life. He was by occupa- 
tion a farmer, of a quiet, retiring disposition, 
and his last days were passed on a farm in 
.Seekonk, where he ilied of exposure at the 
early age of thirty-one. His wife, also born 
in Seekonk, is of the third generation of Cush- 
ings in that town. She is a typical New Eng- 
land woman, thrifty, independent, ami quietly 
determined. After her husband's death she 
kept her family of four chikiren together, al- 
though at times it was a hard struggle, and 
would never accept help from outside sources. 
Her children arc all married now, and she is 



living in Hrockton, an active woman of fifty- 
five. Mr. Dean says that he owes his success 
to his mother's early training. 

Ellery C. Dean was six years of age when 
his father died. For the succeeding three 
years he lived with his grandmother in Rayn- 
ham, attending school in that town. His ed- 
ucational advantages were limited, as, being 
the oldest boy in the family, he was obliged to 
go to work when quite young. However, the 
amount of schooling he received was so well 
supplemented by personal study that he was 
able to meet his associates on an equal foot- 
ing. In 1871 he went to North Hridgewater, 
where, after a little more schooling, at the age 
of fourteen he entered the employ of the West- 
ern Union Telegraph Company as messenger 
boy. He spent three years in this employ- 
ment, and then engaged in wood working on 
his own account in a small way, making 
window screens, doors, etc., by means of small 
foot-power machinery. He was six months in 
this business when he attracted the attention 
of A. C. Thompson, who hired him. In five 
years he had mastered all the details of the 
business, at the same time performing other 
services that were not required of him. In 
1892 he became Mr. Thompscn's partner, 
under the firm name of A. C. Thompson & 
Co., and he now attends to the buying, sell- 
ing, and the settlement of bills. This firm 
has tiie largest trade of the kind in Plymouth 
County. They now employ three times as 
many hands as they did before Mr. Dean be- 
came connected with the concern, using three 
carloads of lumber a week, where before 
hardly one car was required. They spend no 
money in advertising, having all the orders 
they can fill, and iiaving no actual competitors 
outsiile of lioston, while they buy directly 
from the producer, thus saving tiie commission 
that would otherwise go to middlemen. Mr. 



38 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Dean's training in the telegraph business has 
been invaluable to him, as it inculcated habits 
of promptness and accuracy. This training, 
with his mother's teaching, his inherited pru- 
dence, and his natural ability, give iiim un- 
usual strength as a business man. 

Mr. Dean was married November 25, i<S<S5, 
to Lucy W. , daughter of Charles Beals, of 
Sharon, Mass., and has two children, a boy of 
ten, and a girl of seven years. He gives no 
time to politics, preferring to devote his ener- 
gies to his business. He is a member of 
Massasoit Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and has held all the chairs in the 
Pequot Tribe of Red Men. In religious 
matters he is liberal, though he fully appre- 
ciates the good accomplished by church so- 
cieties. 



tT^EUBEN p. gushing, a prosperous 
I S^ business man of the town of Marion, 
l->^ V ^ _ ^ was born in New Bedford, Mass., 
July I, 1846. He grew up under his par- 
ents' care, receiving his education in the pub- 
lic schools of his native town, and serving an 
apprenticeship at the cooper's trade. 

On attaining his majority Mr. Gushing went 
to Boston, hoping to establish himself in some 
business there. Locating soon afterward in 
Gharlestown, now included within the limits 
of Boston, he carried on a profitable provision 
business until 1887. He then came to 
Marion, bought a tract of land, and has since 
been successfully engaged in the culture of 
fruit, vegetables, and cranberries. He began 
on a moderate scale, but has now two cran- 
berry bogs in Marion, besides two other lots of 
land. One of his bogs, covering three and a 
half acres, is admirably adapted to the raising 
of cranberries. With characteristic enterprise 
he also runs a butcher's wagon, with which 
he has acquired a good patronage since 1889. 



Mr. Gushing was married December 9, 
1868, to Miss Lois A. Nickerson, a daughter 
of John VV. and Julia A. Nickerson, of Har- 
wich, Mass. Their only child is a daugh- 
ter named Grace. During his comparatively 
brief residence in this town, he has won 
general respect as a citizen, neighbor, and 
friend, as well as an assured position among 
business men. In politics he votes for the 
best men and measures, being bound by no 
party ties. 

OSHUA R. BARTLETT, of Brockton, 
is widely known as a preacher of the 
Methodist church, a zealous worker for 
the cause of Prohibition, and an able and pro- 
lific writer. He was born in Templeton, 
Worcester Gounty, November 17, 1839, son of 
William and Maria M. (Partridge) Bartlett, 
both also natives of the Bay State. William 
Bartlett, who was born in Ganton, August 23, 
1812, obtained his education in the common 
schools of that town. He was employed as a 
butcher for two years in West Bridgewater by 
Amasa Howard, and in 1849 he and Daniel 
Nash, forming the firm Nash & Bartlett, estab- 
lished a butchering and market business in 
Brockton, then North Bridgewater. Their 
market, which was on the corner of High ami 
Main Streets, was the second started in the 
place. In 1856 William Bartlett engaged in 
the ice business, ha\'ing been its founder in 
Brockton, and conducted a prosperous trade 
until 1864, when he sold out to Walter F. 
Gleaveland, and removed to Templeton, Mass. 
Having settled on a large farm there, he was 
extensively engaged in raising general produce 
for some time. The death of his first wife, 
Maria, in October, 1875, caused him to dis- 
pose of the farm, and he went to live with 
his son, the subject of this sketch. In Feb- 
ruary, 1878, he contracted a second marriage 



BIOGRAPHICAL RKVIEVV 



^<) 



witli a lady fioni liaymond, N.H., ami he 
spent the rest of his life in that tdwn. Hart- 
lett Street in Ikockton is so named in his 
honor, as he was the tirst to buy a house lot 
in that vicinity. He was one of tiie earliest 
l-"ree Soilers, and one of the very few in North 
Hridgcwater: and he was an ardent anti- 
slavery man. He died June 6, 1893. His 
first wife, Maria M. Partridge, was a member 
(if an old family of luiglish origin, and her 
father, Deacon Ezekiel Partridge, was a well- 
known and highly respected resident of Tem- 
pleton, Mass. Both she and her husband were 
members of the Congregational church. Their 
children were: Abby M., who died at the age 
of thirteen; a boy who died in infancy; 
Charles A., born in North Bridgewater, Janu- 
ary g, 1852, who now resides in Clinton, 
Mass., and is Deputy Sheriff of Worcester 
County; George Morey, horn in North Bridge- 
water, June 16, 1854, a printer and publisher 
of law books in St. Louis; and Joshua R., the 
subject of this sketch. 

Joshua R. Bartlett attended the common 
schools in boyhood and Hunt's Academy at 
North Ikidgewater. After leaving school he 
tried various occui)ations before deciding on 
that he judged himself best fitted to follow. 
P'or some time he assisted his father in the 
ice business. Then he kept books, and he 
was employed in the chair sho]is in Temple- 
ton. In 1S61 he again joined his father, and 
worked with him for two or three years. He 
was next engaged in selling sewing machines. 
On August 15, 1864, he enlisted in what was 
afterward Company K, I*"ourth Massachusetts 
Heavy Artillery, and went to Washington. 
His company was assigned to the defence of 
the Capitol, and was .stationed at l^ort Barnard 
until discharged at the close of the war in 
June, 1865. Mr. Bartlett was then employed 
for two years as book-keeper in a chair manu- 



factor)- in Tem|)leton. In the ensuing two 
years he managed an agency for the sale 
of sewing machines at Albany, N.V. His 
next venture was the management of a chair 
business of his own at Fitzwilliam, N.H. ; i)ut 
he was not satisfied with the results, and en- 
gaged in farming for a year. In May, 1874, 
he entered the ministry of the Methodist I-lpis- 
copal church. He was pastor at y\ntrim, 
N.H., two years, and one year each at Am- 
herst, Raymond, and Kpjjing. He was then 
transferred from New Hampshire to the juris- 
diction of the Vermont Conference, and 
labored at Williamstown for two years, and at 
Barre for three years. In the mean time he 
was editing the Vermont L'luistioii .]/issiiit^i-r, 
published at Montpelier. This was a congen- 
ial occupation and one for w'hich he was well 
fitted. In March, 1884, he purchased the 
paper, and he published it at Northfield, V't., 
until September, 1886. 

I'2arly in his career Mr. Bartlett embracetl 
the cause of Prohibition. Since then he has 
worked for it as a member of the Prohibition 
State Committees of New Hampshire, \"er- 
mont, and Massachusetts. He was Secretary 
of the New Hampshire and Vermont bodies, 
and is now a member of the Prohibition City 
Committee of Brockton. The good work he 
accomplished for the cause of tem])erance 
attracted the attention of prominent Gooil 
Templars, and in the winter of 1885 he was 
employed by the Grand Lodge of the State of 
Vermont in organizing and visiting lodges. 
In July, 1886, determined to give his wiiole 
soul to the work, he purchased /'//<• St<ini/nn/- 
Be-(7/rr, a Prohibition paper published at Con- 
coril, N.H., wliich he afterward named 7'//<- 
J'n>/is/, and continued its publication until 
January i, i S90. On that date he merged the 
paper with the Woivcstt-r Daily ami Weekly 
Tiiiiis, which he publisheil at Worcester for 



40 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



two years in behalf of the Prohibition party. 
In February, 1892, he came to Brocl<ton, and 
for two years he was connected with the edi- 
torial and reportorial de|5artments of the Daily 
Despatch of this city. In January, 1893, he 
was made Brockton correspondent for the Bos- 
ton Herald, and he is still in discharge of his 
duties in that capacity. He has been con- 
nected with the Brockton Daily 'fivus since 
it was started in P^ebruary, 1895. He now 
furnishes it with a daily column, on topics of 
the times, for its editorial page, and represents 
it in all City Hall business. 

On December 14, 1862, Mr. Bartlett was 
married to Martha A., daughter of Marcus 
Southworth, of North Bridgewater He has 
three children living, namely: Mary E., the 
wife of Isaac S. Orrill, residing in Worcester; 
Maria H., the wife of Arthur C. Dyke, of 
Bridgewater; and Edwin S., who is studying 
law in the University of Michigan at Ann 
Arbor. While working in the field of litera- 
ture, Mr. Bartlett has retained his connection 
with the Methodist Episcopal church, being 
at present a local elder. He is also a comrade 
of the Grand Army, belonging to I<"letcher 
Webster I'ost, No. 13, of Brockton. 



t()]5ERT COOK, an active member of 
the large dry-goods house of B. E. 
_^ Jones & Co., of Brockton, Mass., 
was born in East Lothian, Scotland, October 
14, 1857, son of Alexander and Jane (Hunter) 
Cook, estimable farming people. His great- 
grandfather, William Cook, an Englishman, 
who removed to Scotland, and remained there 
for the rest of his life, also followed the occu- 
pation of farmer. Robert Cook, after re- 
ceiving a fair education, which was finished 
at Dollar Academy, acted as pupil teacher. 
He left home at the age of fourteen to learn 



the dry-goods business. After serving an 
apprenticeship of four years with Thomas 
Menzies & Co., King Street, Stirling, Scot- 
land, where he became familiar with the vari- 
ous departments, including dressmaking and 
the cashier's work, he remained for one year 
more as clerk. Then he entered the employ 
of James Spence & Co., dry-goods merchants 
of Dundee, and was clerk for this firm some 
four years. After that he was engaged as 
buyer of shawls, furs, lace curtains, etc., by 
Frazier Sons & Co., Buchanan .Street, Glas- 
gow. While acting in this capacity he re- 
ceived a flattering offer from Shepard, Nor- 
well & Co., of Boston, Mass., to take charge 
of their silk and velvet department, they 
agreeing to pay all his travelling expenses. 
He accepted, and was three years in the em- 
ploy of that firm. Resigning his position in 
1884, he took charge of the large retail dry- 
goods store of B. E. Jones, of Brockton. 
Four years later he became Mr. Jones's part- 
ner, the firm name being changed to B. V.. 
Jones & Co. When Mr. Cook became con- 
nected with this house there were but four 
clerks employed. Now there are forty, the 
business having had a phenomenal increase in 
twelve years. He is a man of unusual execu- 
tive ability, shrewdness, and foresight, ami 
his wide experience has given him a diversi- 
fied knowledge of the dry-goods trade. 

Mr. Cook was married in i88i to Lizzie 
Rapp, daughter of William Rapp, of ]?rock- 
ton. -She died in 1891, leaving three chil- 
dren — William Rapp, Lillian Winnifred, and 
Lizzie Rapp Cook. He contracted a second 
marriage with Miss Helene Constance Krauze, 
a lady of English l^irth. By his second union 
he has one child, Robert Alexander Cook. 
Mr. Cook is a member of Paul Revere Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M. ; and Electric Lodge, No. 69, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is 




DANIEL WEBSTER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



4,^ 



an active worker in religious matters, to 
which he has given his time freely, both in 
Scotland and in this country. While in Dun- 
dee he was assistant superiiitendent of I'rec 
St. I'auTs Sinulay-school, and was musical 
ilirector of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation. In (ilasgow he was superintendent 
of Free St. Peter's Sunday-school; and in 
Hi'ockton he was superintendent of the I'irst 
Congregational Sunday-school for about six 
years, and served for some time as Treasurer 
of the parish. He is also actively connected 
witii the Young Men's Christian Association 
here, and was for some time President of the 
association. At the present time he is an 
Klder in the h'irst l'rcsh\tcrian Church. 



B 



ANIKL WEBSTER, "the Defender 
of the Constitution," although a na- 
tive of the Granite State, was dur- 
ing the greater part of his career as an advo- 
cate, orator, and statesman, a citizen ot Mas- 
sachusetts, and for a number of years a resident 
of Plymouth County. His ownership of 
a large landed estate at Green Harbor, iiis 
iiilclligent and progressive methods of agri- 
culture, his lavish outlay for the improvement 
of his broad acres, his pride in his choice and 
well-fed stock, his hearty enjoyment of his 
lur.il sui rountlings, fairly entitled him to the 
distinction of being, far and away, the I-'irst 
l'"armer of Marshfield, South Parish. 

A brief presentment of him as such, set in 
a biographical outline, will i)e singularly in 
place in these pages. His authorized life in 
two volumes, by Mr. George T. Curtis; the 
judicial monograph h\- Mr. Lodge, in the 
"American .Statesmen Series"; and the 
private life b)' Mr. I.anman — sources of infor- 
mation, to which the |)rescnt writer gratefully 
acknowledges indebtedness — may be men- 



tioned, together with the works, si.v volumes, 
edited by Edward Everett, as books to be com- 
mended to present and future generations as 
quickencrs of American patriotism. 

Daniel Webster was born January i8, 17.S2, 
in Salisbury, N.H. He was the second son of 
Eb^nezer and Abigail (ICastman) Webster, and 
was in truth of good family, coming of honest, 
intelligent, 1 iberty-lo\ing stock. His father, 
who was Captain of a comjiany in the Kevolu- 
tion, was a native of Kingston, N.H., and was 
a son of E^benezer and Su.sanna (Rachelder) 
Webster. Concerning this ance.stress, Mr. 
Webster once wrote: "I believe we are all 
indebted to my father's mother for a large 
portion of the little sense and character 
which belong to us. She was a woman of 
uncommon strength of understanding." Her 
son Ebenezer, of Salisbury, removed in 1783 
to that part of the town which is now l-'rank- 
lin. A farmer in moderate circumstances, he 
held the rank of Colonel in the .State militia, 
and served as a "side justice," or Judge, in 
the Court of Common Pleas. 

Learning to read at his mother's knee, the 
Bible his first remembered book, walking the 
long wa\' to and from the district school, 
attending Phillips Ivxeter .\cademy, and later 
studying under the tuition of the Rev. .Sam- 
uel Wood, of Boscawen. X.I I. — thus passed 
the boyhood of Daniel Webster till, at fifteen, 
he entered Dartmouth, where in due course he 
was graduated. Studying law in Salisbury 
and in Boston, earning money in the mean 
time by teaching, to help his brother ICzekiel 
to get a college education, he was a«iniitteil to 
the bar in 1805, and began to ])ractise law at 
Boscawen. Two years later he removed to 
Portsmouth, N.H., where ho rapidly rose to 
prominence in his profession anil in politics, 
in which he early took an active interest. He 
was first elected to Congress in the autumn of 



44 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1812, and took his seat in the House in the 
following May, his second term ending March 
4, 1 8 17. He had changed his residence to 
Boston in 1S16, and there he de\oted himself 
to his lucrative law practice until December, 
1823, when he again became a member of 
Congress. He held his place by successive 
re-elections till he was chosen Senator in 
1827. From that time on, with but few and 
short intervals of retirement, he served his 
country either in the Senate or in the Depart- 
ment of State, being, as one has said, "the 
first lawyer and the first statesman" in the 
land. 

I'irst, perhaps, among Mr. Webster's mem- 
orable addresses should be named his "Reply 
to Hayne " in the Senate Chamber, January 26, 
27, 1830, which has been pronounced "next 
to the Constitution the most correct and com- 
plete exposition of the true powers and func- 
tions of the Federal government " — a speech 
"replete with eloquence and power, clear in 
statement, grand in language, irresistible in 
argument." One of the grandest mementos 
in Faneuil Hall, Boston, is the painting by 
Healy, which reproduces the scene of that 
matchless eloquence. The lamented concilia- 
tory — or so intended — address, which fell 
with fatal effect from his lips on tiie 7th of 
March, 1850, the reunited country may well 
afford to forget. There is no questioning the 
fact, and it cannot be too strongly emphasized, 
that "Mr. Webster was thoroughly national," 
with "no taint of sectionalism or narrow 
local prejudice about him." As a diplomatist 
he rendered eminent service, entitling him to 
lioiiorable fame and lasting gratitude. Not 
tt) speak of his great forensic efforts and nu- 
merous forceful occasional speeches, his Bi- 
centennial Discourse at IMymouth, the two 
Bunker Hill addresses, and the Fulogy on 
Adams and Jefferson, are recognized triumphs 



of American oratory. To quote again from the 
pen of Mr. Lodge, "So long as the union of 
these States endures, or holds a place in his- 
tory, will the name of Daniel Webster be hon- 
ored and remembered, and his stately elo- 
quence find an echo in the hearts of his coun- 
trymen." 

Mr. Webster married in 1808 Miss Grace 
Fletcher, who became the mother of fi\-e chil- 
dren. Three of these lived to maturit)', 
namely: Colonel Fletcher, who was killed at 
the second battle of Bull Run in August, 
1862; Julia, Mrs. Samuel A. Appleton, who 
died in April, 1848; and Major Edward, who 
died in Mexico in January, 1848. Mrs. 
Appleton left four children — the eldest, a 
daughter, Caroline, who married in 1871, for 
her second husband, Jerome Napoleon Bona- 
parte, of lialtimore. Mrs. Grace Fletcher 
Webster died in January, 1828: and in De- 
cember, 1829, Mr. Webster married Miss 
Caroline LeRoy, of New York. 

In September, 1824, Mr. Webster first saw 
the place in Marshfield, where he subsequently 
made his home. In the elm-shaded. Colonial 
dwelling at Green Harbor, owned and occu- 
pied by Captain John Thomas, he and his wife 
passed sexeral happy days ; and here, for some 
years following, the Webster family were sum- 
mer guests. Attractetl by the picturesque 
beauty of the spot, the broad sea view and 
refreshing breezes, and quite as much possibly 
b)' the histoi'ic associations of tlic ok! Pilgrim 
haunt, Mr. Webster purchased the estate, 
embracing one hundred and sixty acres, in the 
fall of 1 83 1, receiving the deed in April, 
1S32. Captain Tiiomas, with his wife, re- 
tained his residence there till his death, in 
1837. The homestead he had inherited from 
his father, Nathaniel Ray Thomas, the noted 
loyalist — the original, it is said, of Trum- 
bull's poem "McF"ingal" — who died in Nova 



BIOGRAPHICAl. REVIEW 



45 



Scotia. Tlic j^rcatcr part of his Marslificld 
property was confiscated, John being the only 
one of his sons who remained a citizen of 
the Ignited States. Nathaniel Ray Thomas 
was a lineal descenilant of William Thomas, 
h'.sq., who came to I'lymouth Colony about 
1630, and settled at Green Harbor in 1645. 
His grave is the oldest in the ancient Wins- 
low Burial Ground. (See " Marshfielil Mem- 
orials," by Miss Thomas.) An ancestor of 
Nathaniel Ray Thomas on his mother's side 
was another early colonist known to fame — 
Simon Ray, of Hlock Island, who has left a 
numerous and distinguished posterity. 

In atldilion to the Thomas pro])erty, to 
which he woukl allow no other name than 
Green Harbor, Mr. Webster bought the old 
Winslow place, "Careswell," and other lands, 
making in all about two thousand acres. His 
farming was on a grand scale, and was a source 
of perpetual delight. He is credited with 
having been the first in the town to use kelp 
as a fertilizer, setting an example of untold 
value to the neighboring farmers. His spe- 
cialty was the raising of fine stock, particu- 
larly cattle, hogs, and sheep; also fancy poul- 
try. He set out orchards, and the seeds of 
forest trees he ])lanted with his own hand. In 
1S39, having sold his house in Boston, on 
Summer Street, he remo\ed the furniture, 
books, and pictures therefrom to Green Har- 
bor, henceforward to be distinctively the Web- 
ster home. He owned and carried on Kims 
I-"arm in I-"ranklin, N.H., a part of which he 
had inherited from his father. 

His delight in the details of farming, and 
his close oversight, is shown in his familiar 
letters, abounding in such expressions as 
these: "The spring, though very cold, has 
been dry, and the weather, therefore, favor- 
able to field labor, i'orter Wright has planted 
twehe or fifteen acres of potatoes in one field. 



Another piece of as many acres is receiving 
corn." The Indian"s rule he notes as a good 
one; "namely, to plant corn when the new 
leaf of the white oak has got to be as big as 
a mouse's ear"; and he goes on: "The field 
where the beets and turnips were last year, 
twenty acres, is laid down in clover. The 
ploughed land inside the gate is to rejoice in 
a crop of millet, and be put down to grass. 
Opposite, in the old orchard, two acres of 
pumpkins are to show the land we live in. 
I believe you were here last autumn when the 
hands were putting kelp on part of Fletcher's 
enclosure. Beets are to have the enjoyment 
of si.x acres of that, and a large kind of field 
[)eas, sowed in drills, the remainder. . . . 

"The cattle ha\e been well taken care of, 
and look well, the sheep especially. We have 
lambs, both South-Down and Cheviot, as fine 
as I have ever seen. . . . The progenitor of all 
the jiorkers, now eighteen years old, if not 
nineteen, still bristles up if you come near his 
habitation." A thousand bushels of corn, 
three thousand of turnips, and seven or eight 
hundred of beets, and barns full of hay are 
elsewhere mentioned as illustrative of a year's 
harvest. 

His biogra[)her, noting his ])ractice of 
giving minute directions, even from Washing- 
ton, of what was to be done on the farms, 
guiding the men "with the e.xactness of an 
overseer and the experience of a day-laborer," 
thus comments on the fact that, "although he 
was, in one sense, a successful farmer, he was 
ne\eran economical one." " He never kept reg- 
ular accounts, or had them kept, and probably 
there never was a year in which he could have 
told how much the expensive luxuries of farm- 
ing had cost him out of his other resources, 
or what was the balance against either of his 
farms." His hospitality, it should be remem- 
bered, was a large factor in his expenditures. 



46 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



At the State House in Boston in January, 
1840, Mr. Webster gave a familiar talk on 
the scientific and systematic cultivation of 
the soil in England, as witnessed by him in 
his recent journey. A paragraph may here 
be cjuoted : — 

"Agriculture feeds us, to a great extent it 
clothes us. Without it we could not have 
manufactures, and we should not have com- 
merce. These all stand together, but they 
stand together like pillars in a cluster, the 
largest in the centre, and that largest is agri- 
culture. Let us remember, too, that we live 
in a country of small farms and free-hold ten- 
ements, a country in which men cultivate with 
their own hands their own fee-simple acres, 
deriving not only their subsistence, but also 
their spirit of independence and manly free- 
dom, from the ground they plough. They are 
at once its owners, its cultivators, its de- 
fenders. And whatever else may be underval- 
ued or overlooked, let us never forget that the 
cultivation of the earth is the most important 
labor of man. Man may be civilized in some 
degree without great progress in manufactures, 
and with little commerce with his distant 
neighbors; but without the cultivation of the 
earth he is, in all countries, a savage. Until 
he gives up the chase and fixes himself in 
some plac^, and seeks a living from the earth, 
he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage 
begins, the arts follow. The farmers, there- 
fore, are the founders of human civilization." 

Daniel Webster died at his home in Marsh- 
field, October 24, 1852. On the 29th was 
there conducted the simple funeral services, 
in accordance with his wish "to be buried 
without the least show or ostentation, but in 
a manner respectful to my neighbors, whose 
kindness has contributed so much to the hap- 
piness of me and mine, and for whose pros- 
perity I offer prayers to God." 



/^^TeORGE H. WATSON, M.D., of 
V |55l Bridgewater, Mass., is an able and 
widely-known physician and sur- 
geon, prominent in social as well as profes- 
sional life. He is a native of Sedgwick, Me., 
where he was born August 1, 1847, son of 
Samuel and Diana B. (Harding) Watson. 
His great-grandfather Watson, who was an 
Englishman by birth, had at the time of the 
Revolution resided on this side of the Atlan- 
tic long enough to become deeply attached to 
his adopted country; and when the colonies 
rebelled against the despotism of the greater 
power he took up arms in behalf of American 
independence. Captured by the royal troops 
he was for some time in durance, and died in 
captivity on one of the prison-ships in New 
York Harbor. 

Samuel Watson, Dr. Watson's father, who 
was a native of the Pine Tree State, was a 
seafaring man, being commander of many a 
large ship engaged in the foreign trade; and 
he was also interested in ship-building at 
Sedgwick, Me., and was the owner of interests 
in many ships. His wife also was born in 
Maine. Two of their children entered pro- 
fessional life; namely, George H., and his 
sister, Laura S. Miss Laura S. Watson is 
the jiresent principal of Abbot Academy for 
Young Ladies at Andover, Mass., one of the 
oldest and most renowned female seminaries, 
as such schools used to be called, in the 
United States. Miss Watson is gifted with 
rare intellectual and administrative qualities, 
and admirably fills her responsible position. 

George H. Watson spent his boyhood in 
Sedgwick, obtaining his primary education in 
the schools of that town. He attended 
Hebron Academy at Hebron, Me., and the 
academy at Nortli ]?ridgeton. Me., and in 
1866 entered Amherst College, graduating in 
1870. Pursuing his professional studies at 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA^IEW 



47 



Albany (N.Y.) Medical School — the medical 
(lepartmont of Union College — he received 
liis degree in 1.S72, and subscciuently took a 
l)()st-gradiiate course at Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College, New York City, graduating 
therefrom in 1873. Thoroughly grounded in 
llie best theories and methods f)f his profes- 
sion, and further qualified and strengthened 
by the varied experience gained at Jiellevue, 
he began to practise at Halifax, Mass., and 
was so successful that he remained in that 
town for a number of years. In 1S82 he re- 
moved to Hridgewater, and here he has a large 
and lucrative practice, his visiting list includ- 
ing not only the townspeople, but also many 
in the out-lying district. Dr. Watson is a 
fellow of the Massachusetts Medical Society; 
also of the American Medical Association; 
and he belongs to Pioneer Lodge, No. 1S3, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Bridge- 
water. 




|;LA 15. HAYVVARD, a respected 
citizen of Brockton, was born in 
Stoughton, Mass., April 22, 1821, 
son of Bela and Lavinia (Drake) llayward. 
The family is an ohl one, and comes of Kng- 
lish stock. Its first representative in Amer- 
ica was Thomas, who settleil in Duxinirv, 
Mass., previous to 1663. His son, Deacon 
Joseph Hayward, married Alice Brett, and 
they became the parents of Thomas, who had 
a son ICdmund. ICdmund's son Waldo, the 
grandfather of the subject of this biography, 
married in 1781 Lucy, daughter of Samuel 
Bartlett, and was the father of seven children 
— Ira, Abby, Bela, Zina, Waldo, Ortho, and 
Lucinda. Bela Hayward, wiio was born in 
North Bridgewater, Novembei 16, 1787, 
learned the trade of gunsmith, and drove a 
team for Leonard Hodges, of Stoughton. He 
was also engaged in the mill business witii 



Mr. Gay for a time. His wife, Lavinia, who 
was a lady of Stoughton, bore him eight chil- 
dren, of whom Bela is the only one living. 
The father died in 1832, at the age of forty- 
five years. 

Bela Hayward attended school in Stoughton 
until he was eleven years old, when he came 
to North Bridgewater, now Brockton, to com- 
plete his education at Deacon Heman Pack- 
ard's School. At the age of fourteen he 
began pegging shoes for his uncle, with whom 
he lived, earning one hundred dollars in twr) 
years. He continued shoemaking, taking out 
work from various shops until 1S70, being 
em]iloyed at one time by Peleg and Lucius 
Leach. In 1864 he enlisted in Company C, 
Sixtieth Massachusetts Regiment as a private. 
He was detailed as bugler, and performed 
guard duty, first at Baltimore, and then at In- 
dianapolis, where the most of the time was 
spent. He was discharged in the following 
November. 

In 1S43 Mr. Hayward was united in mar- 
riage with Olive Porter, daughter of Caleb 
Copeland, and has now three children — Olive 
Augusta, Elmer B., and Edward H. Olive 
married Sylvester Churchill, and resides in 
this city; IClmer B. works in a shoe shop; 
EtIward B. is also married, ami a resilient of 
Brockton. The father moved to his present 
residence in 1S54. In politics he affiliates 
with the Republican party, and he is a mem- 
ber of the P'irst Congregational Church. He 
belongs to the Kletcher Webster Post, No. 13, 
Grand Army of the Republic. 




APTAIN MIRANDA R. SAMPSDN, 
wht) has charge of the Manomet Point 



Js ^ Life Saving Station, was born July 

27, 1835, in Plymouth, this county, son of 
Truman and Ruth Sampson. .\t the age of 



48 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



eighteen, eilthough reared on a farm, he en- 
gaged in seafaring on coasting and fishing- 
vessels. Seven years later he was given 
the command of a craft, and subsequently 
continued in his nautical calling until 1873. 
In 1874 he came to the Manomet Point Life 
Saving Station, at which he served as a surf- 
man for a decade. He was then appointed 
Captain of the station, in which capacity he 
has efficiently served for eleven years. The 
life-saving crew numbers seven men besides 
the Captain. These are: George F. Benni- 
son, George A. Manter, George W. Holmes, 
Alonzo C. Sampson, William L. Bartlett, 
Warrick H. Cleveland, and Charles Dickson. 
Among the many wrecked vessels to which 
Captain Sampson and his men rendered val- 
iant service was the lumber schooner "Wel- 
lington," which went ashore in 1878 or 1879. 
The Captain has resided since 1864 on his 
present estate in Plymouth, which comprises 
thirty-five acres of land. On January 17, 
i860, he married Miss Malancia 0. Pierce, 
who was born in Plymouth in 1838, daughter 
of Melzar and Polly Pierce. They have had 
seven children — Melzar B., Lydia A. P., 
Mattie 0., Mary, Emerson V., Thomas M., 
and George E. The latter died in infancy. 
In politics Captain Sampson is found in the 
ranks of the Democratic party. His religious 
faith brings him into fellowship with the 
Congregationalist church of Plymouth. 



^S^OSIAH yUINCY PACKARD, an up- 
to-date farmer of Brockton, was born 
here, January 6, i86o, at the family 
residence on Plast Ashland Street, son of Nelson 
and Martha P. (Ames) Packard. He is a de- 
scendant in the direct line of Samuel Packard, 
who came from Windham, P^ngland, in 1638, 
in the ship "Diligent," and settled in Hing- 



ham, Mass. Samuel subsequently removed to 
West Bridgewater, where he kept a tavern, 
and officiated as Constable. He married and 
became the father of twelve children. Zac- 
cheus, the fourth child, married Sarah, daugh- 
ter of John Howard: became the father of 
nine children; and died on August 3, 17.3. 
His youngest child, Abiel, born April 29, 
1699, was married on January 11, 1723, to 
Sarah, daughter of John Ames. Abiel was 
a captain of militia, and the largest land- 
holder in the North Parish, owning one thou- 
sand adjacent acres. He died in 1776, at the 
age of seventy-six. His wife, who survived 
him fourteen years, died in Bridgewater in 
1790, at the age of eighty-three. They had 
ten children, of whom Josiah, the eldest, born 
on October 2, 1723, married Sarah, daughter 
of Thomas Ames, January 12, 1747. Josiah 
and his wife also had ten children. 

Josiah Packard, Jr., the fourth-born of his 
parents" children, was the great-grandfather of 
Josiah Ouincy. He was united in marriage 
with Rebecca Perkins on October 10, 1782. 
Captain Luke, born August 21, 1783, who 
was the eldest of their four children, married 
January i, 1807, Lucinda, daughter of Samuel 
Battles. He followed the occupation of 
farmer, and was also engaged in cutting and 
carting timber for ship-building. His five 
children were: Marcus, Nelson, Eliza Dyer, 
Josiah, and Marietta. Marcus, born Septem- 
ber 7, 1808, married Lucinda Bates; Nelson, 
born December 21, 1810, was the father of Jo- 
siah Ouincy, the subject of this sketch; P21iza 
Dyer, born August 20, 181 3, became Mrs. 
Charles Bates, of Boston ; Josiah, the fourth 
child, who was born on March 11, 1816, died 
unmarried; and Marietta, born December 3, 
1821, married Seth Sumner. 

Nelson Packard, the second child of his 
parents, after acquiring a common -school edu- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



49 



cation, enKJiKi-''l in farming. Ho also tooi< 
work from the shoe factories. In politics he 
w.is a straight Republican. Hv his marriage 
with M.irtiia I'., daughter of Theron Ames, of 
this city, he i)ecame the father of si.\ children 
-Charles Nelson, ICliza l-"rances. IMartha 
Jane, l.uke hlUiott, Helen Miriam, ami Josiah 
O. Charles Nelson, horn February 25, 1839, 
served as |5rivate in the Tenth Massachusetts 
Battery, and died in 1876, at the age of forty- 
seven; liliza l-"rances, born April 20, 1 S40, 
married Ansel C. fenney, of Hrockton; Martha 
Jane, born October 8, 1845, uiarried George 
Harwell, of VValtham, and resides here; l.uke 
l-^iliott, born June 4. 1854, and Helen M., 
born November 5, 1856, are also residents of 
Brockton. The father died in 1888, at the 
age of seventy -eight, while the mother, who 
was born in i8ig, is still living, being now 
seventy-seven years old. 

Josiah Ouincy Packard, after completing 
his education in the Brockton High School, 
engaged in farming, which he still continues. 
He also runs a milk farm. In |)olitics he fol- 
lows in the political wake of his father, affili- 
ating with the Republican party. He has 
been a member of the Common Council for 
three years, and is a member of I'aul Revere 
Lodge, A. 1'". & A. M. His religious prefer- 
ences have led hini into communion with the 
Porter Congregational church. On Septem- 
ber 3, 1894, he was united in marriage with 
Elizabeth S. , daughter of Lucius Howard, of 
South Kaston, Bristol Coiuitv. 



YgToN. S1'I-:NCKR LKONARU, IVesi- 
r^l dent of the Bridgewater Savings 
JL^ V , Bank, has long been identified with 
the progress of the town of Bridgewater, serv- 
ing as Selectman for thirty-two years, presid- 
ing year after year ns mnder;itor nf the town 



meetings, and filling other imjiortant posi- 
tions. Bridgewater has been the home o( his 
family for many generations. He was born 
here August 18, 1814; and his parents, Spen- 
cer, .Sr. , and Mary (Wood) Leonard, were 
both natives of this town. 

-Solomon I.con;ird, an l-inglishman, was the 
fir.st of this branch of the family in America, 
settling in Du.xinirv, Mass., in 1687, and a 
few years later removing t(j Bridgewater. Mr. 
Spencer Leonard's great-grandfather, who was 
the fourth in descent from Solomon, fought in 
the Revolutionary War; and his grandfather, 
also Samuel Leonard, who was a native f)f 
Bridgewater, served in the Continental army. 
.Samuel Leonard was one of the first to strike 
for liberty, being a member of the sturdy band 
of minute men. His son, Sjiencer Leonard, 
Sr. , was a soldier in the War of 1812. A 
well-to-do farmer, he was one of the leading 
citizens of Bridgewater, and served as Select- 
man for a number of years. He reared a fam- 
ily of seven children, of whom .Spencer is the 
sole survivor. 

Spencer Leonard was reared on the farm in 
Bridgewater, and received a common-school 
education. For many years in the early part 
of his life he was engaged as a travelling dry- 
goods salesman ; and, on retiring from that 
line of business, he settled on the farm where 
he has since made his home. He was suc- 
cessfully engaged for a number of years in 
the wood and lumber business, and when the 
Bridgewater Savings liank was incorporated he 
was made a Director. His probity in business 
and aliiiity in financial affairs won the confi- 
dence of the community, and later he was 
made President of the bank. Mr. Leon;ird 
was one of the incorporators of the Plymouth 
County Co-operative Creamery Company, was 
its first president, and its superintendent for a 
number of ve.irs: and he h:is lucn identified 



5° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for nearly half a century with the Plymouth 
County Agricultural Society, serving as Trus- 
tee and Vice-President. 

Mr. Leonard was married in 1840 to Miss 
Samantha T. Sturtevant, a lady of beautiful 
character, who, dying December 13, 1892, 
was sincerely mourned by her family and a 
large circle of friends. She was the mother 
of five children, namely: Mary L., wife of 
Marcellus G. Howard, residing in Florida; 
Abbie F., wife of James W. Leach, of Bridge- 
water, Mass.; Austin, in Rhode Island; and 
Cora C. and Spencer, with their father. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Leonard has 
served the public for more than half a century. 
In 1S46 and 1847 he was a Representative in 
the State legislature; and during the Civil 
War he was United States enrolling officer for 
the town of Bridgewater. He has held the 
office of Justice of the Peace for a number of 
years. After having been a member of the 
Board of Selectmen for thirty-two years, he 
was nominated for re-election, but declined to 
serve any longer ; and he presided so often as 
moderator of the town meetings that the mod- 
erator's chair seemed to belong to him. Al- 
ways interested in the progress of his native 
town, with hand and voice he has aided every 
project for its improvement; and in the long 
years of his residence here he has fostered 
many changes for the better. He attends di- 
vine service at the New Jerusalem church. 




ANDALL WEBSTER COOK, dealer 
m general merchandise, grain, and 
coal. South Avenue, Whitman, 
Mass., is one of the best -known merchants in 
this vicinity, having been in trade himself for 
forty years, succeeding his father, who es- 
tablished this business some sixty years ago. 
Mr. Cook was born in Whitman, August 29, 



1 84 1, a son of Randall and Sarah T. (Bates) 
Cook. He is of old Colonial stock, tracing 
his descent from P'rancis Cook, who was a 
member of the "Mayflower"' band of Pil- 
grims. 

Francis Cook was from the parish of BIyth, 
adjoining Austerfield, in Nottinghamshire, 
England, three miles from Scrooby, York- 
shire, the home of Bradford and Brewster. 
He was born in 1577. A convert to the Sep- 
aratist doctrine, he joined the congregation, 
of which John Robinson and William Brew- 
ster were the leaders, and with the little com- 
pany went to Holland. In that country he 
married Hester, a Walloon woman, who bore 
him seven children. These children were: 
John, who accompanied his father to America; 
Josias ; Jacob; Hester; Mary ; Jane; and Eliz- 
abeth. Francis Cook, with the other Pilgrim 
Feathers, signed the compact drawn up on the 
"Mayflower" in Plymouth Harbor, November 
ir, 1620, binding themselves in a "civil body 
politic " "for our better ordering and preserva- 
tion; . . . and by virtue hereof to enact, con- 
stitute, and frame such just and equal laws, 
ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, 
from time to time, as shall be thought most 
meet and convenient for the general good of 
the colony; unto which we promise all due 
submission and obedience." Francis Cook 
was one of the strong men in the sturdy settle- 
ment, and from 1642 to 1648 was in office as 
a public servant. He died in 1663. His son 
John was a volunteer under Captain Prince, 
serving in 1637 in the Pequot War. He died 
November 23, 1675, the last of the company 
who came on the "Mayflower " in 1620. John 
Cook was married to Sarah Warren, March 28, 
1634. 

Jacob, the third son of Francis Cook, came 
to America with his mother in the "Ann," 
landing in Plymouth in August, 1623. He 




RANDALL COOK. 



BIOGRAI'HICAL REVIEW 



nianicd Daniaris, daughter of Stci)liL'n I lop- 
kins. Jacob Cook also was one of the volun- 
teers who fought in the I'equot War in 1637. 
He (lied July 7, 1676. The line of descent 
from liini continues through Francis, Robert, 
antl Nathaniel, to Levi, a soldier of the Revo- 
lution, who was the paternal grandfather of 
Ruiidall Webster Cook. Levi Cook was born 
in Kingston, Mass. lie remo\'ed to Abington 
when a young man, and ?esi:led in that part of 
the town now calietl Wiiitnirin until his death. 
Me was a blacksmith bv trade. His wife was 
Sarah I'oole, a native of Abington, Mass., and 
a member of one of the early families. Their 
son, Randall Cook, was born in Whitman, 
November 7, 1800. In 1837 he started in 
business as a grain and flour merchant, and in 
1849 he opened a store for the sale of general 
merchandise, establishing the Inisiness which 
is now under his son's management. He died 
January 7, 1871. His wife, Sarah T. Bates, 
was a descendant of one of the old families 
of the town of Hingham, Mass. She was born 
in Flainfield, Mass., November 25, 1810, and 
died February 6, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Ran- 
dall Cook had a family of seven children, six 
of whom are li\ing, namely: Sarah J., wife of 
John G. Taylor, in Abington; I'-idelia IL, 
wife of John A. Allen, in lirockton, Mass. ; 
Harriet B., Randall Webster, lulward C, and 
Carrie L, wife of Leonanl K. Wood, all in 
Whitman. 

Randall Webster Cook has resided in Whit- 
man since the day of his birtli. I lis educa- 
tion was obtained in the common schools, and 
he went to work in the store at the age of fif- 
teen. Gifted with a natural aptitude for trade, 
he gave his best energies to the business, 
which he has developed to large proportions; 
and he is now one of the leading merchants of 
the localit)'. He is one of the Directors of 
the I'irst National Hank, a Trustee of the 



Savings Bank, and a member uf the Board of 
Investment. 

Mr. Cook and Marcia Soule, of Kin';vl()n, 
were married in 1870. They have four chil- 
dren — .Sarah Wadsworth, Lucy Klhel, Ran- 
dall Bradford, and F'rancis Gray. Mrs. .Mar- 
cia S. Cook, through her mother, is descended 
from l-'rancis Cook, her husband's Pilgrim 
forefather; and, among her ancestors in direct 
line, she numbers also George Soule and Will- 
iam Bradford, of the "ALiyflower" company. 

In jKjlitics Mr. Cook favors the Democratic 
side. He has been Chairman of the Board of 
Registrars of Voters continuously for twelve 
years. A thirty-second degree Mason, he was 
one of the first in the establishment of the 
Mystic .Shrine: and he is a prominent Knight 
Templar. His wife is a member of the L'ni- 
tarian church, and he is one of the Board of 
Trustees, taking an active interest in the su])- 
port of the organization. 



^T^ICHOLAS A. CLARK, a well-known 
1=/ citizen of Brockton, was born in West 
-1-^ N^ ^ I'airlee, Vt., August 19, 1846, son 
of Henry H. and Eunice (I-Imery) Clark. His 
great-grandfather, John Clark, who was a sea 
captain, came from l-lngland in 1782. His 
grandfather, William Clark, was a native of 
Bradford, lisse.v County, and served his coun- 
try in the War of 181 2. Grandfather Clark 
married a Miss Chase, who lived in that vicin- 
ity; anil they had five children, three boys and 
two girls. The father died when about 
seventy years of age. Henry H., the second 
child of William, a native of Bradford, \t.. 
born in 1813, was engaged in agricultural 
jnirsuits. He owned at one time one hundred 
and ten acres of land, subsequently buying a 
smaller and better farm. His wife, Kunicc, 
a daughter of Noah lunery, of Groton. \'t. , 



54 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



had five children — Elizabeth A., Nicholas 
A., James, Jennie, and George— -all of whom 
are living. The father died May lo, 1883, 
aged sixty-nine years, ten months, and six 
davs. The mother lived to be fifty-seven. 
Nicholas A. Clark, after acquiring a com- 
mon-school education in l^radford, was work- 
ing on his father's farm when the Civil War 
broke out. On June 2, 1863, he enlisted in 
Battery L, First Vermont Heavy Artillery. 
At Fort Slocum he was taken sick with the 
scarlet fever, and was carried to F'ort Lincoln. 
Here he received his discharge April 13, 
1864. After three years, during which he 
was luiable to work, he assisted his father on 
the farm for some time. vThen he went to 
Fast Corinth, Vt. , and was employed on Mr. 
Ladd's farm there for three years, receiving 
for salary fifty dollars and board the first year, 
and one hundred and fifty for the ne.\t two 
years. Mr. Caleb Ladd, of Watertown, 
Mass., then hired him to work on his farm for 
twenty dollars a month. He continued there 
for a year, and saved two hundred dollars out 
of the two hundred and forty he earneil. Mr. 
Clark then went to Boston, where a week 
after he met a Mr. Clifford, of .Stoughton, 
with whom he agreed to learn the junk busi- 
ness for a consideration of fifty cents a day for 
a month, after which he was to receive two 
hundred and thirty-five dollars a year. Li the 
second year he received an advance, and dur- 
ing the third year he earned one dollar a day. 
Li 1873 he started a junk business in the same 
town for himself, and carried it on for six 
years. A copartnership was then formed with 
his former employer, K. R. Clifford, under 
the style of Clifford & Clark, which contin- 
ued five years. Mr. Clark then came to 
T3rockton,^ and started in the same business. 
He has been very prosperous since, and now 
owns a good deal of real estate here./ 



()n July 4, 1873, he was united in marriage 
with a daughter of John Fames, of Warren, 
N. H. They had two children, b(.>th of whom 
are dead. In politics he is a member of the 
Kei)ublican party; and he affiliates with 
b'letcher Webster Tost, No. 13, (jrand Army 
of the Republic. Both Mr. Clark and his 
wife attend the Methodist Fpiscopal chinch, 
of which Mrs. Clark is a member. 



TT^HARLFS A. TOWNSEND has been 
I jp identified with the town of Rockland, 

Vi„i£_^^ Plymouth Count}', Mass., since 
1862, and is now a member of the Board of 
.Selectmen. He was born in North Abington, 
Mass., June 11, 1837, a son of Ezekiel and 
Lucinda (Adkins) Townsend. 

Ezekiel Townsend, who was born in North 
Abington, was engaged for some time in the 
leading industry of this locality, shoemaking, 
and for \'ears also he followed the pursuit of 
agriculture. He died at the age of eighty- 
four. His wife, a nati\'e of the State of 
Maine, was called to rest in her seventy-third 
year. This couple reared three children: Ed- 
ward I^., now in Minnesota; Charles A.; and 
Rachel A. (deceased). 

Charles A. Townsend was reared on a farm, 
and received but a limited common-school 
education, as he went to work at the age of 
fourteen, being first employed in a shoe shop 
in his native town. hi 1857 he went West, 
and for five years he was employed in a general 
store in Lockport, 111. It has been said that 
our early environment makes us what we are ; 
and, though this does not always hold good, it 
is true in a great many cases. Mr. Town- 
send's earl)- environment seems to have shaped 
his life, for after five years' experience in 
trade he entered a shoe shop again. He was 
employed in a factory in Milford, Mass., for a 



BIOGRAJ'HICAL REVIEW 



55 



year, ami then leinoxcd to kdcklaiul, ulieie 
he lias since been engaged as machine operator 
in a shoe factory. 

In 1 865 he was united in marriage with 
Miss H. I-;ilen Shaw, of Rockland. Mr. 
Townsentl is pinniinent among the Republi- 
cans of the town, and has filleil a number of 
offices. lie has been on the I^oard of Water 
Commissioners for the jiast si.x years, and is 
also .superintendent of fire alarm. Elected 
Selectman first in iSSo, he served one year, 
and was re-elected in 1890; and from that 
time to the piesent he has been retaineil in 
office. He takes a lively interest in town 
affairs, and is always willing to give time 
and attention to i^rojects for the improvement 
of the i^lace. As a member of society, he i,s 
prominent and popular. He belongs to Stan- 
dish Lodge, No. "/"J, Independent Order of 
Odd l'"ello\v.s; Pilgrim Encampment, Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows; Hatherly Lodge, 
No. 699, Knights of Honor; John Cutler 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Pilgrim Chapter and 
( )ld L'oliinv Commandery, Knights Templars, 
and Abington Council; also of the Masonic 
fraternity. While not a ])rofessing church 
member, he attends worshi[) at the Unitarian 
church. 




I^AMUia. C. ' WHITi:, one of the 
Hoard of .Selectmen of East Rridge- 
water, Mass., and a prominent citi- 
zen of the town, was born here January 31, 
1841, a son of Benjamin and Rebecca (Hrown) 
White. His father is still living, and a resi- 
dent of East Hridgewater. He was born in 
Abington, Mass., over eighty years ago, son 
of Thomas, a descendant of an Abington pio- 
neer of that name. The family is supposed to 
be of .Scotch and ICnglish origin. 

Thomas White and Lewis Prown, the grand- 
fathers of Samuel C. White were both soldiers 



in the War of i8ij. in his earlier years Hen- 
jamin White was a shoemaker; but he subse- 
quently engaged in farming, and is now re- 
tiretl from active pursuits. Four of the chil- 
dren born of his union with Rebecca lirown 
are living, namely: Samuel C. ; Harriet J., 
the wife of Horace Worcester, of East Hridge- 
water; Mary, wife of Alden Wilbur, of 
Bridgewater; and Frederick W. , living in 
liast Hridgewater. Formerly a Whig, since 
the formation of the Republican party Benja- 
min White has been one of its most loyal 
adherents. 

.Samuel C. White obtained his early educa- 
tion in the common schools of F^ast Bridge- 
water. When about ten years of age, he began 
working at shoemaking, and continued to en- 
gage in that branch of industry u|5 to Ajjril, 
1894, when, owing to illness, he gave up the 
employment, ami has not since resumed it. 
He married Mrs. Mary F^ Bonney White, 
daughter of Lucius Bonney, of East Bridge- 
water. 

In 1886 Mr. White wa.s elected to the office 
of -Selectman ; and he was subsequently re- 
elected three successive terms, making four 
years that he served at that time. In 1895, 
and again in 1896, he was re-elected. In ])ol- 
itics he is a stanch Republican. Both as a 
citizen and as an official Mr. White has the 
good will and confidence of the community. 



t^TlATn' 11. K\1)1';R, a prominent real 
r^l estate dealer of Brockton, was born 

li® v_ ^ in this city, March 10, 1853, son of 

William and Lucretia (Ames) Ryder. He is 
a descendant of an old West Bridgewater fam- 
ily. His grandfather, who served in the War 
of 1812, had si.x children, of whom William 
was the tiiird. William Ryder was a mer- 
chant tailor in Brockton for a number of years. 



56 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



An intelligent, well-read, and progressive 
man of sterling personal character, he was 
widely respected. He lived to he seventy-two 
years old. His wife, Lucretia, was a daugh- 
ter of Louis Ames, of West Bridgewater. 
She had three sons: William, Jr. ; Walter II ; 
and Henry H. ■ 

Henry H. Ryder was educated in the public 
schools and at Bridgewater Academy. He 
then left home to enter the employ of Burridge 
Brothers & Co., with whom he remained three 
years and a half. At the end of that time he 
returned to his native city, and went into the 
real estate business, which has since engaged 
his attention. Possessing in a large degree 
the qualities of foresight, good judgment, and 
prompt decision, he has been very successful, 
and has done his share in helping to develop 
the resources of his native city. In politics 
he is a Republican, and he attends the Porter 
Congregational church. He is well worthy of 
being classed as a representative citizen of 
Plymouth County. 



tLTON B. HASTINGS, one of 
successful men of Brockton, was 
^^^ in Thomaston, Knox County, 



Df the 

was born 

Me., 

March 2(, 1857, son of Thaddeus and Abbie 
O. (Trull) Hastings. His grandfather, also 
named Thaddeus, and a native of Union Com- 
mon, Me., who owned a large farm in the vi- 
cinity of Thomaston, and was one of the 
|jrnminent citizens of the town, had children, 
of whom Thaddeus, Jr., was the third-born. 
Thaddeus Hastings, Jr., received a common- 
school education, and learned the carpenter's 
trade. An industrious and intelligent man, 
he managed a successful business as carpenter 
and builder in Thomaston for eighteen years. 
He was about forty years old at the time of his 
death. His wife was a daughter of John B. 



Trull, who for a quarter of a century managed 
the St. George, the principal hotel of Thomas- 
ton. They had three children, of whom Alton 
B. and Carrie T. are living. Carrie T. mar- 
ried C. F. Hathaway, of Cambridge, Mass. 

Alton B. Hastings obtained his education 
in Bath, Me., where he subsequently shipped 
as a sailor before the mast for two years. 
Pleased with his first venture, he followed the 
sea for some time, visiting many foreign ports, 
and working his way up to the rank of second 
mate. He afterward worked for a year in 
George Moulton's repair shop in Bath, had 
charge of a stationary engine for some time for 
G. P. Richardson, and then was engaged as 
driver for Hobart & Hathaway, of Bath, 
bakers. About a year after Mr. Hastings be- 
came connected with the last-named house, 
Mr. Hathaway retired from the firm, and Mr. 
Hobart placed Mr. Hastings in charge of the 
business. A year later he bought a bakery 
in Bath, managed it for some months, and 
then sold it to his former employer. He sub- 
sequently removed to Marblehead, Mass., and 
opened a bakery there for Mr. Hathaway. He 
had conducted this place for three years, when 
it was destroyed by fire. In 18S9 he opened 
a bakery in Brockton, at his present location. 
Two years ago, 1894, he erected a new build- 
ing on Market Street, adjoining his old sho]). 
He is now completing another bakery on Per- 
kins Avenue; and on July 13, 1896, he started 
a bakery on Main Street, opposite Belmont 
Street. He has a large wholesale as well 
as a retail business employing ten bakers 
constantly, and a number of delivery teams. 
He is also interested in real estate, and has 
made some successful deals. 

Mr. Hastings was married March 21, 1881, 
to Laura A. Cushman, daughter of Job Cush- 
man, of Bath, Me., and now has four children 
— Arthur C, Alice M., Carolyn B., and P]dna 




ALTON B. HASTINGS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



yj 



v. I'i)litically, he favors the Republican 
party. lie is a member of St. George Lodge, 
A. I'". & A. .\1., of Canipello. In religious 
believe he is a Congregational ist. 




IIAKLI'IS \V. IIOWLAND, of Rock- 
land, Mass., civil engineer, is a 

^2 \vell-I<n(i\vn ami popular citizen. 

He has been a Deacon of the Congregational 
church for eight years, and is connected with 
some of the leading social organizations of the 
day. A son of the Rev. Freeman P. and 
Deborah (Cushing) Rowland, he was born in 
Hanson, Plymouth County, Mass., December 
5, ICS3S. 

Freeman P. Howhuid was born in Sandwich, 
on the Cape, but passed his boyhood in P"al- 
mouth, Mass. He was a descendant in the 
seventh generation from John 1 lowland, one 
of the Pilgrims who came to this country in 
the ";\Iayflower " in 1620. The Rev. Mr. 
llowland was first settled as pastor of the New 
Hedford Congregational church, was subse- 
quently located at Hanson, and later at Hali- 
fa.x, a neighboring town. On account of ill- 
health he gave up his pastorate at Halifax, 
but continued preaching more or less regu- 
larly, being often called to supply vacant 
pulpits. In Halifa.x he lived two or three 
years, in Campello two years, in Hanson again 
one year, and from 1S49 until the time of his 
death his home was in Abington. His life 
was a busy one, for much Was expected of a 
minister in his time. He was counsellor, 
doctor, lawyer, and general adviser in all 
things; and when land was to be measured, 
deeds made, conveyances w'ritten, or clerical 
work of any kind done, his services were 
called into requisition. 

The Rev. I-'reeman P. llnwlaml died in Ab- 
ington at the age of eighty-five. His wife, 



Deborah Cushing Howland, was born in i8cK> 
in that part of Pembroke, Mass., which is now 
Han.son. The Cushings are a long-lived fam- 
iy, few of them dying under seventy; and 
Mrs. Howland lived to be nearly ninety-si.\ 
years old. She was the mother of si.x sons and 
three daughters. Of these Freeman died in- 
1890; John died in infancy; lulward C. is a 
farmer, living in Abington; Charles W. is the 
subject of this sketch; I.saac C. resides in 
Abington, and ICliza II lives with him, in 
the home where their father died; Deborah, 
wido\V of Dr. A. P. Chase, resides in Amboy, 
111. ; Caroline F., wife of George \V. Wilder, 
lives in Montpelier, Vt. ; and Daniel Sawin, 
a son by a former husband, and a railroad con- 
tractor, died in Arkansas. 

Charles \V. Howland in his boyhood at- 
tended the common schools in towns where his 
parents resided, the grammar and high schools 
of Abington, and Cotting Academy at West 
Cambridge. He began his work as a civil 
engineer when he was si.xteen years old. His 
father's services were desired for some survey- 
ing and platting; and, as he was away, the 
youth, who had often watched him performing 
such work, volunteered to do it. So well was 
the task accomplished that from that time 
forth his services were much in requisition, 
to the overworked minister's great relief. 
With the exception of a short period when he 
was with his brother, an apothecary in Boston, 
Mr. Howland has since been employed as a 
civil engineer, covering a wide field in his 
operations. He has been engaged in electric 
railway work and municipal engineering, and 
has established a reputation as an expert and 
reliable civil engineer. In August, 1S62, he 
enlisted in the I'ourth Regiment, Massachu- 
setts Volunteer Infantry, anil saw some hard 
service in field and hospital, acting for some 
time as hospital steward. His term of enlist- 



6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



nient expired AugList 28, 1863; and after a 
season of recuperation, made necessary by the 
broken state of his health, he resumed the 
work of his profession. Mr. Rowland also 
conducts quite an insurance business, lacing 
the pioneer in that line in the town. He has 
been a member of the Board of Directors of 
the Abington Mutual Fire Insurance Company 
for twenty years, and he has been President of 
the Mount Vernon Cemetery Company eight 
years. 

In December, 1862, he was united in mar- 
riage with Mariesta Dodge, who was born and 
reared in West Cambridge, Mass. She died 
at Mr. Rowland's summer home at Brant 
Rock, July 26, 1889, lamented by all who 
knew her, as she was a most estimable lady. 
She was the mother of seven children, three of 
whom are living: Giles W., in the insurance 
business in Rockland, where he married, and 
now resides; Elizabeth C, wife of Dr. 
Charles S. Millet, of Brockton; and Marion 
Dodge, who is yet under the shelter of the 
paternal roof. On Christmas Day, 1891, 
Mr. Rowland was married to Miss Amy Dick- 
ens, of Chicago, 111., a niece of Charles Dick- 
ens, the novelist; and by this union he has 
three children — Helen Dickens, Deborah 
Cushing, and Amy Dickens. 

Mr. Rowland cast his first Presidential vote 
for Abraham Lincoln, and has been an active 
member of the Republican party for over 
thirty years. Re was a member of the State 
legislature for two terms, 1879 and 1881. A 
Mason of long standing, having joined the 
brotherhood before the war, he belongs to Pil- 
grim Chapter; and he is a member of Old Col- 
ony Commandery, Knights Templars, and of 
the order of Knights of Honor. He is also a 
member of the Rockland Commercial Club, 
and of McPherson Post, Grand Army of the 
Republic, of Abington, of which he was Com- 



mandei' in 1873. Deacon Rowland was on the 
church committee on music for seven years, 
and he teaches a class in the Sunday-school. 
He is a genial, pleasant gentleman, and has 
a large circle of friends. 




t^ 



^ATRICK GILMORP:, a leading 
banker and grocer of Brockton, was 



born November 21, 1852, on Grove 
Street, this town, son of John and Ellen (Sax- 
ton) Gilmore. The Gilmore family is of 
Scotch-Irish origin. Michael Gilmore, the 
grandfather of Patrick, was born in County 
Westmeath, Ireland, and for some time was a 
farmer in that place. He left his home for 
America when his children were beginning to 
grow up about him, settled in Brockton, and 
for a number of years had charge of a passenger 
ferry in that place. Re died here at the age 
of seventy-seven, having reared two sons and 
one daughter. 

John Gilmore, also a native of Westmeath, 
was the second child of his parents. When 
he was nineteen years of age, he located in 
Randolph, Mass., and was there associated in 
business with his uncle for about a year and a 
half. He then settled in the locality now the 
site of 90 Grove Street, and in 1851 erected a 
house there. After learning the shoemaker's 
trade in David Packard's factory, he took con- 
tracts from L. Whitcomb, hiring a number of 
men to do the work. In 1858 he started in 
the grocery business on Grove Street, and in 
course of time he built up a prosperous trade. 
In all his business enterprises he evinced a 
stability of ]iurpose and a shrewdness of judg- 
ment that inevitably won success. Re was 
the first Irishman to succeed in business iri 
Brockton. About ten years prior to his death 
he sold his store, and turned his attention to 
his real estate interests. A member of St. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



6i 



Patrick's Temperance Society for a iuinil)cr of 
years, he was President for some time. He 
was one of the founders of St. Patrick's Cath- 
olic church, wiiicii was built in 1859. and 
was superintendent of the Sunday-school for 
a number of years. He died March 5, 1 8go, 
aged sixty years. Of iiis nine ciiildren. three 
sons are livinj^. 

Patrick Gilmore, who was the oldest of his 
parents' children, graduated from the Brockton 
High School in 1871. Seven years later, on 
July II, 1878, he opened a grocery store at 
his present location, with James P. Conley as 
partner. The firm of Gilmore & Conley, after 
carrying on a good business until September 
5, 1881, was dissolved; and Mr. Gilmore has 
since been the sole proprietor. As a merchant, 
he is very successful; and he is skilled in 
matters of finance. He is also agent for the 
Cunard and White Star Lines of European 
steamers, and he does a good business in the 
drawing of drafts on luirope. He lias been a 
Trustee of the Hrockton Savings Hank since 
its organization. 

Mr. Gilmore was married August 19, 1877, 
to Miss Kelleher, a native of County Cork, 
Ireland, and now has four children. In 
politics he favors the Democratic side, but 
votes the Republican ticket whenever he 
thinks the candidate better fitted to fill the 
office. He has served as Town Constable, and 
was on the .School Hoard from 1879 to 1881. 
Now his business demands his whole atten- 
tion. A charter member of the Ancient 
Order of Hibernians, Ui\isioii 1, which he 
joined at the time of its organization in 1873, 
he filled the President's chair for four years, 
was County Delegate for two years; and he 
has held other offices in the organization. He 
has been Chief Ranger and Dejiuty High Chief 
Ranger in the Massachusetts Catholic Order 
of Foresters. He has been superintendent of 



the Sunday-school of St. Patrick's church, 
was Chairman of the Cemetery Committee for 
about nine years, and is now President of St. 
Patrick's Conference of the Saint X'incent de 
Paul Society. Mr. (iilmore was the first 
Roman Catholic to serve on a jury in Plym- 
outh Countv. 




fSlI OLI.IS M. HLACKSTONK, superin- 
tendent of the Massachusetts State 
P'arm, located in Hridge water, was 
born in I-'reedom, Waldo County, Me., July 
31, 1848, son (if Dr. Varney and Julia (Lam- 
son) Hlackstone. The family is of l-lnglish 
origin, and is thought to have descended from 
the Rev. William Blackstone, the first white 
settler of Shawmut, now Boston. 

Varney Blackstone, M.D., father of Hollis 
M. Hlackstone, was a practising physician of 
Freedom, Mc. He died in that town at the 
age of forty-one years. His wife, Julia Lam- 
son, like himself a native ot Maine, was a 
daughter of James Lamson, who was a |)en- 
sioner of the War of 1812, and for many years 
a Deacon of the Baptist church. 

Hollis M. Blackstone was left fatherless at 
the age of six years, and when twelve years 
old he was practically self-supporting. 
Through persistent efforts he acquired an 
academic education, and after completing his 
studies he taught school for some time. He 
lived in his native State until reaching the 
age of twenty years; anci, subsequently taking 
u]) his residence in Boston, he in 1S7J was ap- 
pointed to a clerkship at the city institution 
on Deer Islanil. He continueil in that posi- 
tion until 1877, when he was chosen superin- 
tendent of the Marcella -Street Home, con- 
ducted by the city of Boston, and located at 
tiie Highlantls. In 1883 he was the choice of 
the Board of Trustees for the superintendency 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of tlie State Farm in Bridgewater, and that he- 
has fully displayed the competency and fidel- 
ity expected of him is amply attested by his 
long tenure of office. 

The institution has three separate depart- 
ments ; namely, the workhouse, to which are 
sentenced habitual inebriates, tramps, va- 
grants, and idle and disorderly persons; the 
State Almshouse, which is a retreat for the 
sick and infirm poor of south-eastern Massa- 
chusetts; and the Asylum for Insane Crimi- 
nals. The State Farm occupies a beautiful 
and healthy location, and its present structure 
of brick and stone, which replaced the former 
wooden buildings destroyed by fire on July 2, 
1883, are models as to thoroughness of con- 
struction and completeness in every detail. 
The conflagration, which destroyed the old 
buildings, occurred the day after Mr. Black- 
stone took charge of the institution; and the 
architectural plans and specifications for the 
present buildings, which are said to be practi- 
cally fireproof, were, in the main, prepared by 
him. The State Farm under its present man- 
agement is accomplishing the work for which 
it is intended in a most satisfactory manner, 
and its present superintendent is exceedingly 
popular with all parties interested in its wel- 
fare. 

Mr. l^lackstone and Sarah F. Roberts, of 
Brooks, Me., were married on February 8, 
1877; and three children are the fruit of their 
union, namely: Alfred V.; Helen M. ; and 
Nellie, who is no longer living. 

Politically, Mr. Blackstone is a Republican. 
F'or a number of years he has served upon the 
School Board of Bridgewater, being at the 
present time Chairman of that body; and he is 
also Postmaster at the State Farm. He is a 
member of I^"ellowship Lodge, A. F. & A. M. , 
of Bridgewater, and a member of the Unita- 
rian church. The e.xcellent results obtained 



at the Farm are due mainly to his executive 
ability and thorough knowledge of the work, 
and in all probability his continuance in office 
is optional with himself. 



bfRANCIS F. HOWARD, Treasurer and 
r^l. President of the Board of Trustees of 
Howard Seminary, an institution of 
learning founded by his father, which stands 
among the foremost schools of Plymouth 
County, was born in West Bridgewater, May 
14, 1825. His parents. Captain Benjamin 
B. and Olive (Howard) Howard, were both 
natives of West Bridgewater. 

On the paternal side he traces his descent 
from John Howard, who was of English birth, 
a contemporary and neighbor of Miles Stan- 
dish in the Plymouth settlement. John How- 
ard located in that part of old Bridgewater 
that is now West Bridgewater some time 
previous to 1650. The town was organized 
June 3, 1656, and he was one of the fifty-six 
original proprietors. The homestead estab- 
lished by him has remained in the possession 
of the family ever since his time, being now 
occupied by Benjamin B. Howard, nephew of 
Mr. Francis K. Howard. F"or over one hun- 
dred and fifty years a public house was kept 
here, where the stage running between Boston 
and New Bedford stopped for refreshments and 
passengers. P>om John Howard the line of 
descent was continued by John, Jr., Major 
Edward, and Colonel Edward, officers in the 
State militia, to Captain Benjamin B. How- 
ard, above mentioned. All these gentlemen 
were born in West Bridgewater. 

Captain Benjamin B. Howard was a soldier 
in the War of 18 12, and was afterward com- 
mander of a company of the State militia. 
In politics he was originally a Wliig, later a 
Republican. A wealthy and prominent man. 




\ 



FRANCIS E. HOWARD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



65 



he was actively interested in tlie welfare of his 
native ])lace, and the educational institution 
which he founded is a lasting; memorial to his 
enterprise and public spirit. He died April 
3, 1867. Howard Seminary, in West Bridge- 
water, was opened as a home school for girls 
in 1S83, and is now widely known. The 
building, beautiful in design and surround- 
ings, has a first-class ec|uipment for its pur- 
poses as a seat of learning. Elective, aca- 
demic, and college preparatory courses are 
provided for the students, the curriculum in- 
cluding music and art; anil a diploma or cer- 
tificate from Hovvartl Seminary admits to col- 
lege without further examination. The school 
at present is under the competent manage- 
ment of Professor and Mrs. R. W. Gifford, 
and is in a flourishing condition. 

P'rancis E. Howard was educated in the 
puljlic schools of his native town. He is in- 
terested in agriculture, l)oth scientific and 
practical; owns a fine farm in West Bridge- 
water; and he is a member of West Bridge- 
water Grange, and President of the Farmer's 
Club of this place. In local educational mat- 
ters he has long taken a prominent part. He 
was a member of the School Committee eight 
years, and CiKiirman of the Board two years. 
This is his second year as President of the 
Board of Trustees of Howard Seminary, and 
his tliirteenth year as Treasurer, he having 



been elected to the latter oflTice in 188; 



The 



original Board of Trustees consisted of eleven 
members, and of this Board Mr. Howard is 
the only one serving at present. He is also 
Secretary and Treasurer of tlic I'ine Hill 
Cemetery Association. 

Like his father, he was originally ;i Whig 
in politics, and when, in 1855, the petition 
to establish the Republican party was circu- 
lated in West Bridgewater, he was the first 
voter to sign it. Since that time he has been 



a stanch Republican. He gave his first I'resi- 
dential vote to Zachary Taylor in 1848. Mr. 
Howard is a man of culture and ability as well 
as wealth and influence, and has been honored 
by his party with a number of public offices. 
He was chosen delegate to the first Republi- 
can convention at Worcester. He has served 
for si.x years as Selectman of West liridge- 
waler, and was two years Chairman of the 
Board. In 1870 he was Assistant Marshal 
in the census work in this town; and in 1882 
he was in the State legislature, and served on 
the State House Committee. In every office 
to which he has been elected he has performed 
his duties with good judgment and entire 
competence, and wherever he is known he has 
the respect of his fellows. 

Mr. Howard was married November 25, 
1852, to Mary K. Hay ward, who died a few 
years later, leaving two children: Edith I-"., 
who is with her father; and Mary J., deceased. 
He was married again October 5, 1858, to 
Elizabeth B. Taylor, his present wife. By 
this union he has no children. Mr. Howard 
has been a member of the Unitarian church in 
West Bridgewater for nearlv half a century. 




Francis M. SHAW, a well-known 
business man of Brockton, Mass., is a 
gentleman of wide and varied experi- 
ence in life. He has served his country in 
time of war both in the army and navy: has 
travelled far anti journeyetl in distant lands; 
and has held numerous positions of trust and 
responsibility, serving the interests of impor- 
tant industrial enterprises, and lending a hand 
sagaciously to the conduct of public affairs. 

He was born November 3, 1825, at Rayn- 
ham, Mass., being a representative of the 
fourth generation of Shaws in that ancient 
town of Bristol County. Joseph Shaw, his 



66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



great-grandfather, was the first of the name in 
Raynhani, where he was engaged in farming. 
He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary 
Army, and in his last years received a pension 
from the government. Joseph Shaw married 
Celia Wade, and had four children — Joseph, 
Samuel, Silas, and Polly. He died at sixty- 
.seven years of age. 

Samuel Shaw, his second son, was a Rayn- 
ham farmer, and was also a house carpenter. 
He had exceptional talent for music, and 
taught singing-school in winter evenings in 
the neighborhood. His wife, Abigail, who 
was a daughter of Seth Hall, of Raynham, 
lived to the age of eighty-seven years. Their 
children were: Mary; Samuel, Jr.; Deida- 
mia; Isaac H. ; Susan; Linus H. ; and Abi- 
gail. Samuel Shaw, Jr., the father of Francis 
M., was born on the family homestead at 
Raynham, and resided there to the end of his 
days, dying at the age of eighty five. In his 
old age he drew a pension for his services in 
the War of 1812. He married Rachel Shaw, 
and they had seven children. The three now 
living are: Caroline E. , Francis Marion, and 
James Harmon. The other four were : Alan- 
son and William Wallace, who died each at 
about forty years of age; Oliver Perry, who 
died at thirty-five; and Andrew Jackson, who 
died at eighteen. The mother died in 1840, 
aged forty-eight years. The house where the 
parents spent their married life and in which 
they were all born is now over two himdred 
years old : it is occupied by the son, James H. 
Shaw. 

Francis Marion was the second boy in this 
patriotic family to bear the name of a martial 
hero. In his early years attending the dis- 
trict school, a mile from his home, he ac- 
quired a good knowledge of the C(jmmon Eng- 
lish branches. The school-room was heated 
from a fireplace, on whose ample hearth, in 



winter days, blazed a fire of huge logs and 
brushwood. The furniture and all the appli- 
ances were of primitive fashion. But text- 
books were well conned, hard sums were tri- 
umjihantly ciphered out, minds grew attentive 
and alert ; and not the least valuable lessons 
learned were of resolute self-reliance and vig- 
orous endeavor. 

y\t the youthfid age of fourteen Francis M. 
Shaw joined the army of wage-earners by 
going to work in a nail factory. He was ne.xt, 
for about a year, employed in the East Taun- 
ton Iron Works; and from there he went to a 
manufacturing place on the Schuylkill River 
in Pennsylvania, still later finding a situation 
in the Duncannon Iron Works — all this before 
he was eighteen. At that age he took a new 
departure, embarking on the "William and 
Eliza," a four-boat whale ship, for a four 
years' cruise, sailing around Cape Horn, stop- 
ping at Valparaiso and the Sandwich Islands, 
both on the outward trip and the return voy- 
age, spending at one time six months at Hon- 
olulu. In 1846, fifty years ago, they were 
taking in oil at Japan; while in the China 
Sea they were in a typhoon, and had a narrow 
escape from destruction. At the Cannibal 
Islands they engaged in traffic with the na- 
tives, bartering beads for hogs; and young 
Shaw there sold the king's son a violin that 
he had made himself. Among other jilaces 
that he visited on his voyage were the .Sanioan 
Islands and New Zealand. 

Reaching home on the I'ourth of Jul}-, NS48, 
a man of twenty two, with mind broadened and 
matured, he shortly after went into the shoe 
business, some branch of which he followed for 
five or si.x years. Then he bought a thirty-acre 
farm, and built a small shoe factory. In this 
he set up the first pegging machine that was 
brought into Raynham. In i860 his factory 
was burned down, and in 1S62 he removed to 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rp:VIK\V 



(>1 



Abingtiin Centre. In the fdllowing summer 
lie enlisted in the Ninth Massachusetts Hat- 
tery, and, being sent into the field, reached 
(iettysburg just after the battle was over. 
( )iders coming f(ir the discharge of all sailors 
from the ranks. Private Shaw enlisted on the 
I'nited States Steamshi[) " San Jacinto, " and 
was a])])ointed paymaster's steward. ,\t Key 
West, where the steamer touched, the vellow 
fever was raging. They there took on Ad- 
miral Bell, and returned to New York, whence 
they were ordered to St. John, N.H. , after 
the pirate Sims. Losing two boats in a gale 
off Cape Hatteras, they put into Kittery Navy 
Yard, and from there went to Fortress Monroe. 
While cruising among the Hahama Islands on 
the watch for rebel vessels, the "San Jacinto " 
was wrecked on No Name Key, and went to 
pieces. They remained on the island eighteen 
days, subsisting on what could be saved from 
the wreck; and for water brought to them in 
boats "by the natives the captain paid three 
hundred dnllars in gold. The men were res- 
cued by the United States Steamshij) "Talla- 
poosa," which took them to Hoston. They had 
saved ten thousand dollar.s from the sunken ship. 
On receiving his discharge in July, 1865, 
Mr. Shaw went back to Abington, but soon 
removed to Hrockton. Vm some time he trav- 
elled for David Whittemore & Co., manufact- 
urers of shoe machines, putting up machinery 
in Boston and vicinity. In 1871 he went 
abroad in the interests of Mr. Whittemore, and 
sold machines in London and (ilasgow, and 
visited also Dublin, I'aris, and other jjlaces, 
being absent eight months. Receiving word 
while at Hamburg that the Whittemore man- 
ufactorv had been burned, he returned to 
Massachusett.s. In the year 1873 he had 
charge of the Boston Shoe Machinery Com- 
pany's exhibit at the X'ienna E.xposition. 
Among other illustrious visitors who came to 



view the American machinery were the Lm- 
[leror Francis Joseph and his wife, the em- 
press. Mr. Shaw availed himself of the op- 
portunity afforded by this six months' sojourn 
in ICuro[)e to \isit the .Alps and other points 
of interest. 

Returning to Massachusetts, he bought out a 
factory on High .Street, Boston, and for three 
years carried on the business of manufacturing 
pasted insoles and heel stock. His next en- 
terjjrise was undertaken in Brockton, where he 
established the leather and remnant business 
on Railroad Avenue, and the Naphtha Fx- 
tracting Works on Centre Street, now carried 
on under the name of F. M. Shaw & Son, 
from which he retired on account of failing 
health, since which time the business has been 
carried on by his son, Francis E. , under the 
same firm name. Previous to this last venture 
Mr. Shaw had bought an interest in the Bos- 
ton Rivet Company, and, as a representative 
of the company, had made in 1875 another 
visit to lun()]je. He has crossed and re- 
crossed the Atlantic twice since that time — 
namely, in 1883 and 1885 — and has also trav- 
elled in California and other parts of the great 
West. 

Mr. Shaw was a Know Nothing during the 
short existence of that jiolitical cumbination 
in the fifties. He lias been a stanch Re- 
publican since the organization of the party; 
and he was a delegate to the convention at 
Worcester that nominated for the chief magis- 
tracy of the State John A. Aniirew, since re- 
nowned as our great and good war governor. 
Mr. Shaw has served as a member of the Coun- 
cil of Brockton f(ir two years. He belongs to 
Fletcher Webster Post, No. 13, Grand Army 
of the Republic, of which he was chaplain 
seven or eight years ; and he has served as a 
delegate to four Cirand .Army Conventions, 
including that held in Denver. 



68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



In religious faith he is a follower of Sweden- 
borg, and is a member of the New Jerusalem 
church in Abington. Mr. Shaw has been 
twice married. His first wife, formerly Miss 
Mary L. Eaton, of Raynham, died leaving six 
children — ^ Emma E., Linus H., Alice L., 
Francis E., Mary E., and Samuel. In 1861 
he married Harriett R Bates, daughter of 
Kufus B. Bates, of Cummington, Mass. Mrs. 
Shaw is the mother of one child, a son, Nor- 
man B. Alice L. Shaw married D. T. Bur- 
rell, of Brockton ; Mary E. Shaw is the wife 
of Sidney Perkins, and lives at Savin Hill, 
Boston, Mass. ; Emma E. Shaw married Ed- 
ward Bryant, and lives in Brockton; Linus H. 
Shaw married Abbie Dunham, of Plymouth ; 
Francis E. Shaw married Hattie E. Wilde, 
of Brockton; Samuel Shaw, unmarried, is a 
member of the firm of Leonard & Shaw, of 
Middleboro; and Norman B. Shaw married 
Li la S. Copeland, of Raynham, and resides 
in Brockton, and he is a member of the Opera 
House Orchestra of this city. 




"ON. JAMES GUSHING LEAGH, 
of Bridgewater, who died in 1895, 
was one of the able men of Plym- 
outh County, actively identified with the in- 
dustrial, agricultural, financial, and political 
life of this section of the State. A son of 
Alpheus and Elizabeth Gushing (Mitchell) 
Leach, he was born in Bridgewater, July 11, 
183 1. His parents were natives of Bridge- 
water, connected with the oldest families of 
the vicinity, his father being a lineal descend- 
ant of Giles Leach, who settled in this town 
some time prior to 1665. Another ancestor of 
the subject of this sketch was the Rev. James 
Keith, the pioneer minister of Bridgewater. 

Alpheus Leach had a small farm in this 
town, and here the boy James grew to man- 



hood, obtaining his education in the district 
schools. In his seventeenth year he began to 
learn the carpenter's trade with Ambrose 
Keith, a prominent bulkier, for whom he 
worked a number of years; and for some time 
thereafter he was employed by J. E. Garver, 
of Bridgewater, cotton-gin manufacturer. 
In 1870 he started in business tor himself, 
manufacturing oil-proof paper, used in the 
manufacture of boots and shoes: and he also 
dealt in various kinds of shoe findings. This 
enterprise he conducted up to the time of his 
death with unvarying success. As his ability 
as a business man became known, he was 
drawn into connection with prominent enter- 
prises of various kinds, his integrity and good 
judgment making his co-operation most desir- 
able. He was a Trustee and a member of the 
Investment Committee of the Bridgewater 
Savings Bank for a number of years ; a Di- 
rector of the Brockton National Bank; and, a 
member of the Plymouth Agricultural Society 
for a long term of years, he served on the 
Board of Trustees, and was active in its man- 
agement. An ardent advocate of public 
schools, he was always, ready to foster educa- 
tional progress, and, as one of the Trustees of 
Bridgewater Academy, took a deep interest 
in the welfare of that institution. 

He was elected on the Republican ticket to 
the Massachusetts legislature, and served two 
terms, in 1893 and 1894; and in 1895 he was 
returned to the State Senate. In both Upper 
and Lower House he served with distinction 
on the Committees on Banking, and was also 
a member of other important committees. 
Mr. Leach was commissioned Justice of the 
Peace by Governor Rice in 1877. No less 
prominent in social than in business and po- 
litical affairs, he was a member of Fellowship 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Bridgewater; Har- 
mony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of the 





^/>7^7^^2i^. 





BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



same place; Brockton Council, Royal and 
Select Masters; and Hay State Comniandery, 
Knights Templars. He believed firmly in 
the good accomplished by religious organiza- 
tions, and was a liberal contributor to the 
Central Square Church of Hriilgewater. His 
death, which occurred October 3, 1895, was 
widely mourned, and each citizen of his native 
town felt that he had lost a jiersonal friend. 
His remains rest in Mount Prospect Cemetery. 
Mr. Leach was married April 29, i860, to 
PhcKbe, daughter of Marcus and Hannah 
(Leach) Conant, of Hridgewater. Mr. 
Conant, who is a native of New Hampshire, 
is living in Hridgewater with a daughter, 
Mrs. Alfred Hall. His wife was born in 
IVLissachusetts. She died in 1889. Mrs. 
Leach, who was born in this town, i.s a gradu- 
ate of the Hridgewater Normal School, and 
taught for some time before her marriage. 
During her husband's lifetime she took an 
active part in society events, and she is widely 
known anil esteemed. She had three children, 
who died in infancy. Her dwelling on Pleas- 
ant Street, erected by Mr. Leach in 1869, is 
one of the handsome residences of Hridge- 
water, a town noted for its beautiful homes. 




CMXKR KKITH, dealer in coal, 
lime, cement, fertilizer, and hay, 
is one of the prominent and sub- 
stantial business men of Hridgewater. He 
was born in this town, November 20, 1833, 
a son of lulwin and -Saba (Hooper) Keith, 
both natives of Hridgewater. On the paternal 
side he is of Scotch origin, descended from 
the Rev. James Keith, a native of the "land 
o' cakes" and a graduate of Aberdeen Univer- 
sity, who, immigrating to America, located in 
what is now West Hridgewater. Here the 
Rev. Mr. Keith was active for years in evan- 



gelical work, and was one of the best known of 
the pioneer preachers in Lastern Massachusetts. 

Isaac Keith, of the third generation from 
the Rev. James Keith, lived in Hridgewater, 
where his son Kdwin, the father of .Sumner 
Keith, was born in 1800. Kdwin Keith was 
engaged in the manufacture of cotton gins, and 
was one of the organizers of the well-known 
manufacturing house of Hates, Hyde & Co., of 
Hridgewater. I'or a number of years he was 
sui:)erintendent nf the works, at the same time 
being a member of the firm. Active in local 
politics, he was a prominent member of the 
Whig, and later of the Republican party. He 
died in i860. His wife, who was born in 
1804, died in 18S1. 

Sumner Keith attended the common schools 
of his native town and Hridgewater Academy. 
He learned the blacksmith's and the machin- 
ist's trade, becoming a practical general me- 
chanic, and from his sixteenth to his twenty- 
eighth year was a workman in the employ of 
Hates, Hyde & Co. Then, on the death of his 
father, he succeeded to the ]>osition of superin- 
tendent. This position he held thirteen years, 
resigning in 1873 on account of ill-health. 
In 1876 he started in his present business; and 
as a merchant he has been very successful, 
building up a large trade. Mr. Keith's career 
has been an honorable one, his success being 
achieved through native ability, good judg- 
ment, and diligent application; and he has 
the confidence of the entire community. 

He was married in 1S69 to Sarah, daughter 
of I'.dward Mitchell, of Hridgewater; and by 
this union has three sons — Edwin, Charles 
M., and Joseph W. In jiolitics he favors the 
Republican side. A iniblic-spirited citizen, 
he takes a deep interest in the welfare of his 
native town, and has served on the Hoard of 
Selectmen. He attends public worship at the 
New Jerusalem church. 



72 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



I 



/^^TeORGE a. wheeler, the subject 
V f5 1 of this sketch, is one of the well- 
known men of I'h'mouth County, and 
is a descendant of William Wheeler, who 
came over from luigland in the old Colo- 
nial days. His great-grandfather, William 
Wheeler, of a later generation, served as a 
sailor in the War of the Revolution, was 
wounded and taken prisoner in an engagement, 
and afterward lost his life in attempting to 
escape. 

William Wheeler, the next in line, son of 
the patriotic sailor and the grandfather of 
George A., served in the War of 1812, and 
afterward followed the calling of shoemaker 
and small farmer, living to a good old age and 
rearing a numerous family. Among the many 
sons was Albert D. Wheeler, who was a shoe- 
maker by trade and was also a well-known 
teacher of vocal music. He married Rachel 
S. Bourne, of Hanson, ) 

George A., their only child, was born in 
Rockland, Mass., formerly a part of Abington, 
June 6, 1842. In the following year his par- 
ents removed to East Bridgevvater, in which 
town he passed the years of his boyhood, at- 
tending the district school and also the acad- 
emy for a short term. In 1S59 he entered 
the State Normal School at Hridgewater, and, 
graduating in Eebruary, 1861, assumed the 
duties of teacher in one of the public schools 
of the good old town of Halifa.x the following 
fall. 

Answering the call of President Lincoln for 
"three hundred thousand more," he enlisted 
August 6, 1862, in Company D, Thirty-eighth 
Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, for three 
years. On the 8th of the same month he was 
married to Miss Eliza J. Darcy, of East 
Bridgewater, and on the 26th left the State 
with his regiment to face the dangers and 
hardships of war. Serving under General 



Banks in Louisiana, he took part in the battles 
of Bisland, also serving through the siege of 
Port Hudson and taking part in the assaults on 
the works. May 27 and June 14, 1863, receiv- 
ing slight wounds in the two last engagements. 
In 1864 he again served under General Banks 
in the Red River campaign, participating in 
the battles of Cane River and Chalk Plains. 
In August of the same year he was transferred 
with his regiment to Virginia to serve under 
General Sheridan in the valley of the Shenan- 
doah, there being engaged in the battles of 
Berryvillc, Winchester, or Opequan Creek, 
F'isher's Hill, and Cedar Creek, that being 
the last battle in which his regiment was 
engaged. 

Receiving his discharge at the close of the 
war, he soon resumed his duties as a teacher, 
having charge of schools in East Bridgewater 
and Whitman until 1871. In 1870 he re- 
ceived from Mayor James Bates, Sheriff of 
Plymouth County, his first commission as 
Deputy Sheriff, a position which he still 
holds, having served continuously up to the 
present time. Mr. Wheeler resided in East 
Bridgewater during this time, holding various 
town offices until 1883, when he was trans- 
ferred by Captain A. K. Harmon, Sheriff of 
the county, to Brockton. In 1884 he was 
appointed City Marshal, holding that position 
until his resignation some three years latei'. 
He is a member of Justin Dimick Post, Grand 
Army of the Republic, at East Bridgewater; 
a charter member of Satucket Lodge, A. E. & 
A. M., of the same place; a charter member 
of Damocles Lodge, Knights of Pythias; also 
a member of .Satucket Chapter and Bay State 
Commandery, Knights Templars, of Brock- 
ton. He served as probation officer for the 
city from 1885 to 1891, when he resigned the 
office upon his election as Alderman. Air. 
Wheeler still resides in Brockton, holding the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



73 



position of auctioneer, iJcput)' Sheriff, and 
Crier of the Supreme and Superior Courts of 
tlie county, and doin^' a j^'eneral Inisiness, in 
wiiich he is assisted i)v liis .son, !•". I'arkhurst 
Wheeler, i)orii Se[nend)er jf), 1869, who, lii<e 
iiiniself, is an only cliild. 



(S^OIIN M. S'fl'/rSON, .general manager 
of the liriilgewater Iron Compan)', is 
of the fourth generation of liis family 
connected with this long-established industrial 
enterprise. A native of Hridgewater, Mass., 
he was born February 25, 1853, and is a son 
of (ieorge H. and Mary L. (Sumner) Stetson. 

i'lie .Stetsons are of luiglish origin, the 
Hridgewater branch being descended from 
Cornet Robert Stetson, one of the early Co- 
lonial settlers of Massachusetts from the 
mother country. 

Captain .Abisha Stetson, great-grandfather 
of the special subject of this sketch, was one 
of the incor|)orators and original members of 
the lirm of Lazell, I'erkins & Co., of Hridge- 
water, iron manufacturers, afterward merged 
into the Hridgewater Iron Works; and his son 
Nahuni, John M. Stetson's grandfather, was 
for over half a century agent, treasurer, and 
manager of the concern. A prominent citizen 
of Hridgewater, Nahum .Stetson displayed 
.diility in ])ublic as well as |)rivate affairs, 
rejjresenting the district in the .State legis- 
lature. 

(ieorge H. .Stetson, son of N'alnmi, is a 
native of Hridgewater, a well-known and 
respected citizen. He, too, has been con- 
nected with the Iron Works, acting for a long 
period as general selling agent. His wife is 
a native of I'awtucket, R.I. Mr. and Mrs. 
(ieorge H. -Stetson have three sons living: 
(ieorge W. , in France; John M., in Hridge- 
water; and Xahum, in .\ew ^'ork City. 



John M. .Stetson, the second son, the dale 
of whose birth is mentioned above, was edu- 
cated in the public schools and the academy 
of Hridgewater and in Anthon's jjrivate school 
in New ^■ork City. He was employed for 
.some time as a clerk in a cotton broker's office 
in New York, and in i.S/i was engaged as 
clerk and book-keeper for the Hridgewater 
Iron W'orks. Performing his duties intelli- 
gently and faithfully, in the daily routine of 
his work he became thor(jughly familiar with 
all the details of the extensive business ; and 
in 1886 he was made general manager of the 
concern. 

In 1874 Mr. Stetson was united in marriage 
with Ruth H. , daughter of Ur. James C. 
Swan, of West Hridgewater, and by this union 
has become the father of three children — 
Mary L., Harriet S., and James S. An es- 
teemed member of the Republican party, Mr. 
Stetson has served for two years as Selectman 
of Hridgewater. He is well advanced in Ma- 
sonry, being a member of Fellowship Lodge, 
A. V. & A. M., of Hridgewater; a charter 
member of Harmony Chapter of the same 
place; a member of the Council at Hrockton, 
Mass. ; and also a member of the Knight 
Tem|ilar Commandery of Hrockton. Helong- 
ing to one of the old antl res|)ected families of 
the place, he is esteemed by his fellow-citi- 
zens not only for his connections, but also (or 
his own personal worth. 



^m<' 



i:()R(iK FFARIXCi Ri:i;i). who was 
V f5 I born in Abington, Plymouth County, 
Mass., May 31, 1834, .son of FzekicI 
and Cephisa (Studley) Reed, is a progressive 
farmer, owner of a fine estate of si\ hunjlrcd 
acres, which has been for generations in the 
possession of the Reeil tamily. 

John Reede, the immigrant ancestor, was 



74 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



brought to this country by James Garrett, of 
Charlestovvn ; and, as Garrett was unable to 
pay their passage, both were sold in 1653 to 
Michael Pierce, of Hingbam, for seven 
pounds. They served till 1662, and Reede 
then found his way to Scituate. There he 
married Mary Winter, of Plymouth ; and the 
couple subsequently nio\'ed to Marsh field, and 
thence to Kingston, Mass. John Reede was 
the progenitor of the Marshfield Reeds; and 
the majority of his descendants have remained 
in Plymouth County from his day to the pres- 
ent — a race of sturdv farmers, with here and 
there a statesman and able financier. John 
Reed, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, 1844 to 185 I, was a member of this 
family. Charles Reed, P-sq. , Mr. George P". 
Reed's brother, who is a graduate of Yale 
College, is a prominent member of the New 
Haven bar, now retired from professional 
work, and an ex-judge of probate. 

George Fearing Reed attentlctl private 
schools in Abington antl a private academy, 
and finished his schooling at Willistun Semi- 
nary, Easthampton, at the age of eighteen. 
He was first engaged as clerk in dry-goods 
stores in Kingston and in Plymouth, and then 
for six years was employed as book-keeper by 
L. Faxon & Co., of Abington, Mass., and 
Charleston, S.C. From 1859 till 1S85 he 
was in the shoe business as a member of the 
firm of Nash & Co., and in the latter year he 
assumed management of the old Reed home- 
stead. Besides attending to the culture of 
several acres of his land, he has the best- 
equipped saw-mill in Plymouth County, oper- 
ated by electricity ; and this mill has a large 
annual output. Mr. Reed is a worthy repre- 
sentative of his family, industrious, able, and 
progressive. 

He was married May 31, 1855, to Maria 
Antoinette F"axon, of Abington. One child 



was given to them — Althea Cephisa, who 
died May 16, 1891. In politics Mr. Reed is 
independent. As a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows fraternity, he belongs to Pilgrim Lodge, 
No. 75, Nemasket P2ncan)pment, No. 44, and 
Grand Canton, No. iS; and he is also a mem- 
ber of the Grand Lodge and the Grand P>n- 
campnicnt of Massachusetts. 




RLANDO \V. CHARLES, M.D., 
a well-known medical practitioner of 
Pembroke, Plymouth County, Mass., 
was born in P>yeburg, Oxford Count)', Me., 
August 20, 1856, being the son of Simeon, 
Jr., and Rebekah (Woodman) Charles. The 
family on the paternal side, distinctly Puritan, 
descended from John Charles, who settled in 
Charlestown in 1636. John Charles, the 
fourth of that name, a native of Brimfield, 
Mass., was one of the original proprietors of 
the town of Fryeburg, where his son Simeon 
was born October 27, 1787. They were pub- 
lic-spirited citizens and influential in promot- 
ing all the important enterprises of improve- 
ment in that vicinity, particularly in estab- 
lishing schools and a church. 

Simeon Charles, Jr., son of Simeon, lives 
on the farm formerly owned by his parents, a 
large and \-aluable tract of exceedingly fertile 
land in tlie valley of the Saco River. In their 
native town the family is distinguished for 
honesty, fair dealing, temperance, and general 
uprightness of character. Simeon, Jr., mar- 
ried Rebekah, daughter of John and Sarah 
(Evans) Woodman, of Sweden, Me. Joshua 
Gammage, grandfather of Mrs. Woodman, was 
a soldier in the Revolution, and with other 
veterans was present at the celebration of the 
completion of Bunker Hill Monument in 1843. 
Orlando W.. Charles supplemented his pub- 
lic school education by attendance at P"ryeburg 



BIOGRAl'HICAl. RF.VIKW 



75 



Acaclem\', aftci' which he began the stiulv <if 
medicine. For several years lie taiij,'ht suc- 
cessfully in his native town. In June. i8Si, 
he was s^racluated from l^owdoin Medical Col- 
lege, and in September of the same year 
settled in the town where he is now engaged 
in a large practice. Dr. Charles stands high 
personally, as well as professionallv, among 
his fcllow-nicn. lie is a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Medical Society. In politics he is 
a Democrat. I'raternalh', he is a member of 
I'hcenix Lodge, A. !•". & .A. M., of Hanover. 
On May 20, 1S83, he was united in mar- 
riage with l-",lizabeth Chaniller, tiaughter of 
Joseph and Mary (Chase) Chandler, of Frye- 
burg. Mrs. Charles is the grand-daughter and 
great-grand-daughter of Revolutionary soldiers, 
and a direct descendant of General Joseph 
l-iye, to whom the site of the town of Frye- 
burg was given b\' the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts for distinguished ser\ices in 
the b'rench and Indian War. Paul Langdon, 
the tirst preceptor of I-"ryeburg Academy, and 
son of the Kev. .Samuel Langdon, President of 
Harvard College, was her great-grandfather. 



BAMFL WALDO FII':LD. an ex- 
tensive shoe manufacturer of Brock- 
ton. Mass., and president of the 
Clark-Iludson Company, shoe jobbers, iii 
I'ederal Street, Boston, is a citizen of whom 
Urockton is justly proud. Besides establish- 
ing a large and prosperous industry which has 
brought ]ilenty and content into many a work- 
ingman's home, he has given largely to phil- 
anthropic enterprises, some of which owe their 
existence to his generosity. He was born in 
Brockton, February 18, 1856, the .son of Will- 
iam L. and Mary (Holmes) p-iekl. 

He is a descendant of John l'"iekl, an ]-".ng- 
lishman. who settled in Providence. R.I., and 



was the original ancestor of most of the 
.American Fields, including the chief justice 
of the L'nited States .Su|)reme Court. Daniel 
VV. Field's great-great-grandfather, Jabez, the 
son of Daniel and grandfather of Zopha Field, 
was born on the Peregrine White grant in 
Hridgewater, now Montello, a tract of land 
about a mile and six rods long, a part of which 
has been in tite family one hundred and fifty 
years or more. Zopha Field, who was a pros- 
perous butcher, owning a slaughter house and 
several wagons, was in business a great many 
years, dying at the age of seventy. He mar- 
ried a Miss Packard, and reared four daughters 
and four sons, of whom only William L. and 
Charles C. are living. 

One of the sons, named Daniel, was en- 
gaged in making boots before the war, and 
William L. made brogans; but after the 
advent of machinery lessened the tlemand for 
hand work he engaged in other jnusuits. As 
a farmer, he was cpiite successful ; and he man- 
aged two large summer hotels, the Pawnee and 
the Central House, at Martha's Vineyard. 
A large real estate owner, he realized consid- 
erable on land sales, the sites of the W. L. 
Douglass factory, French's factory, the 
Lavers Dye works, and <ither buildings, hav- 
ing originally belonged to him. He gave the 
land to the Old Colony Railroad Company for 
their station at Montello, and his sons were 
instrumental in getting the station located 
there. Mr. William L. I-"ield, who is sixty- 
seven years of age, is now living on the family 
homestead. He is a shrewd, quiet man, who 
makes no boast of what he has accomplished, 
though he has worked very hard in past years. 
His wife, who was Miss Mary Holmes, of 
Middleboro, daughter of Jesse Holmes, of 
Plymouth, has been his untiring helpmate in 
life's struggle, shirking no duty, however 
wearisome. They have three sons living. 



76 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Their only daughter was called from earth at 
the age of sixteen, the happy age which is 
neither childhood nor womanhood, but com- 
bines the graces of both. The eldest son, 
William 1"., is salesman for D. W. I-'icld, and 
assistant manager and also treasurer of the 
Field-Hazard Company. Daniel W. is the 
second son. The youngest, Fred, is a member 
of the firm of Packard & Field, of lirockton. 

Daniel Waldo b'iekl in his youth attended 
the Brockton High School and Bryant & 
Stratton's Commercial College, Boston, 
where he was graduated in 1875. After leav- 
ing school, he worked on his father's farm for 
about a year and a half, driving a milk wagon 
and taking care of forty cows. One day when 
he was in his twenty-first year Mr. D. S. 
Howard stopped him on the street, and re- 
quested him to take charge of the books in his 
shoe factory, then the largest in the city. He 
was in Mr. Howard's employ four years. In 
the last three years he saved from his salary 
fifteen hundred dollars; and in i.SSi he started 
in business in a small way as a shoe manu- 
facturer, employing seven men and making 
thirty-six pairs of shoes a day. His indus- 
trious habits and close application to busi- 
ness brought him prosperity; and in 1883 he 
erected, on his father's farm, the nucleus of 
his present plant, a factory thirty-three by 
sixty feet in dimension. Since then he has 
made three additions, only enlarging as his 
capital allowed; and his factory now is three 
hundred and fifty feet long, with four floors for 
business and two storehouses, containing in 
all fifty-two thousand feet of floor space. He 
employs on an average five hundred hands, and 
makes from four to five thousand ]iairs of shoes 
a day. 

In 1894, in company with his brother, Will- 
iam L. Field, and Zimri Thurber, he started 
another shoe factory under the firm name of 



I'icld, Thurber & Co. ; and in Sejitember, 
1895, the brothers bought Mr. Thurber's in- 
terest, admitting to partnership Mr. Hazard, 
who is the present manager of the I'^ieJd-Haz- 
ard factory, Mr. 1). W. b'ield being president 
of the corporation. In the past five years, 
according to record, Mr. Field has shipped 
one-twelfth of the shoes sent out from Brock- 
ton. He was one of the original founders of 
the Clark-Hudson Company, of Boston, which 
was established in 1892, and of which he has 
since been president. Hiring quarters at 11 1 
Federal Street, they purchased their stock, 
and the first year's sales, in 1893, amounted 
to over a million dollars, in 1 S94 the sales 
aggregated a million and a half dollars, and in 
1895 nearly two million dollars. They are 
now probably the largest jobbers in Boston, 
and employ a hundred hands, including clerks, 
typewriters, and salesmen. 

Mr. Field's brothers live near him, so they 
form a manufacturing community of their own. 
When he started in business, the only means 
of travel between Brockton and Montello was a 
coach which made two or three trips daily; 
and the silence of the little suburb was broken 
only by the drowsy and infrequent sounds of 
farm life. Now the place is changed to a 
bustling manufacturing village, with hurrying 
steam-cars connecting it with other industrial 
centres; and this great change is due to Mr. 
Field's enterprise. His factory is kejit in 
constant operation, and he is always ready to 
aid his help in erecting homes of their own. 
The best of feeling e.xists between him and 
his employees, and only once during his busi- 
ness life has he had any trouble with them. 

As a financier, he has a variety of connec- 
tions. He is largely interested in real estate 
and building, transacting his business on his 
own responsibility alone, and has fifty tenants, 
and has erected thirteen stores; and he is an 




GEORGE B. HOWARD. 



RIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



79 



active Diicctor in tlic Ikockton National Hank, 
and owns several union interests. During his 
wliolc business career lie lias never borrowed 
money, never given his note. His donations 
to charitable enterprises are generous and fre- 
quent, and many of his benefactions have been 
performed in such a quiet way that they are 
unknown to the general ])ulilic. lie takes a 
deep interest in schools for the blinil. He 
was one of the J^uilding Committee of the 
Hrockton Hospital, and one of the leaders in 
the enterprise. He gave liberally to the 
Wales Old Ladies' Home at Montello; and 
he built the Congregational church at Mon- 
tellci, which was completed in September, 
1.S95, and gave it to the society. 

Mr. l'"ield married Miss Rosa A. Howes, 
who was born in Harnstable, on the Cape; 
and she has aided him in his work, not only 
with sym|)ath\' and encouragement, but in 
many practical ways. 

Though he takes no active inteiest in poli- 
tics, preferring to devote his time to his busi- 
ness, he served two years as I'ark Commis- 
sioner of Hrockton, and was urged to run for 
Alderman, but declined. lie is not a lodge 
man, but belongs to the Commercial Club, an 
association of business men. Mr. I""ield is not 
a professed church member, yet he is a practi- 
cal and active Christian. riuier the weight 
of his business cares his health has broken 
down; and by his physician's atlvice he has 
spent much of the past four years in travel, in 
California, luirope, Cuba, antl other [larts of 
the world. 



/3)K()RGb: 15URRI1.I. HOWARD has 
\^k5 1 served efficiently as Assessor of 
Hrockton for the past si.\ years. 
A member of an old Plymouth County family, 
he was born in North Hridgewater (now 
Brockton), November 24, 1S45. His parents 



were Thomas Jefferson and Lavinia (Tilden; 
Howard. 

His first ancestor in this country was John 
Howard, who lived for some time with Cap- 
tain Miles Standish in Duxbury, and later 
settled on a tract of new lanri, in what is now 
West Hridgewater, where he died in 1700. 
He married Martha, daughter of Thomas Hay- 
wartl, and reared seven children — John, 
James, Jonathan, l-'lizabeth, Sarah, Ik-thiah, 
and Ephraim. Kphraim Howard, who died 
in 1750, married Mary, daughter of the Rev. 
James Keith, perpetuating the line of descent, 
which includes the special subject of this 
sketch. His children were: Jane, born Sep- 
tember 17, 1689; Susanna, March 8, 1692; 
Martha, August 7, 1695; Kphraim, Jr., 
March 25, 1697; Daniel, October 3, 1699; 
David, March 3, 1703; Silence, June 3, 1705; 
and Mary, December 21, 1707. 

ICphraim Howard, Jr., the fourth child, 
married Abigail Tisdale, who died in 1758, 
leaving the following children: George, born 
January 31, 1721; Theophilus, born in 1724; 
Kphra'un, in 1731; Abigail, in 1733; Sus- 
anna, born in 173''), who married John Ames, 
and was the mother of Oliver Ames, the 
founder of the shovel works in Kaston ; Mar- 
tha, born in 1739; Mary, in 1741. George 
Howard, the eldest son, who was the great- 
grandfather of George li., died April 3, 1815, 
aged t)ver ninety-three years. He was mar- 
ried in 1745 to Abigail, daughter of Jonathan 
Copeland. "She was born December g, 1724, 
and died March 26, 1809. The children of 
this couple were: Hannah, born July 26, 
1746; Abigail, September 26, 1748; Hetty, 
May 9, 1751; George, Jr., September 8, 
1753, who was in the Revolutionary War in 
1775; Oliver, born December 21, 1755: Job, 
.May 17. 1758; Caleb, December 15, 1760; 
Rachel, April 20, 1763; Patty. August 2, 



So 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1765; Asaph, March 19, 1768; and Nehe- 
niiah, August 20, 1770. 

Caleb, the third son, who was the next in 
this line, was a man of strong character, and 
was highly esteemed in North Bridgewater 
(now Brockton). He filled a number of pub- 
lic offices, was first Representative to the 
General Court from the town of North Bridge- 
water in 1822, Justice of the Peace for a great 
many years, and held various commissions. 
He was in the Revolutionary War. In his 
later years he was commonly called Colonel 
Howard, being Colonel in the militia, and 
Commander of the forces at Plymouth in the 
War of 1 81 2. He died January 4, 1831, in 
the seventy-first year o'f his age. On Decem- 
ber 7, 1780, he was married to Sylvia, daugh- 
ter of Daniel Alger. She was born Novem- 
ber 13, 1761, and died September 17, 18 19, 
in her fifty-eighth year. They were the par- 
ents of eleven children: Hannah, born May 9, 
1782; Apollos, August 23, 1784; Abigail, 
March 23, 1786; Sylvia, June 9, 1788; 
Vesta, May 17, 1790; Chloe, January 19, 
1793; Nancy, January 10, 179S; Welcome, 
April 17, 1797; Olive, July 24, 1799; Caleb, 
June 8, 1802; and Thomas Jefferson, July 20, 
1804. Colonel Caleb Howard married a sec- 
ond wife, Abigail Snell, daughter of Issacher 
Snell, Esq., but by this union had no children. 
Thomas Jefferson Howard, youngest son of 
Colonel Howard, was a farmer of North 
Bridgewater. He died May 27, 1S74. His 
wife was daughter of John Tilden, who was in 
the Revolutionary War. She was born April 
9, 1810, and died February 25, 1891. Of 
their children, the following is a brief record: 
Thomas Franklin was born July 14, 1831. 
Caleb, who was born August 2, 1833, at- 
tended the Harvard Law School, and subse- 
quently studied in Philadelphia. He went to 
California about i860, and took the stump for 



Abraham Lincoln, and he subsequently taught 
school in the Sandwich Islands. Sent from 
there on a government errand to the Island 
of Guam, near Japan, he died in August, 
1864, on the way, and was buried at sea. 
Frederick Howard, born March 19, 1S36, 
died February 19, 1837. Willard, born July 
10, 1839, "ow a resident of Baltimore, Md., 
was in the forty-fourth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment at the time of the war, and was commis- 
sioned by Governor Andrew in the Fifty- 
fourth Regiment, serving successively as 
Lieutenant, Adjutant, and Captain, and re- 
maining in the service until the war was fin- 
ished. He is now Colonel of the Fourth 
Regiment of the Maryland State militia. 
Davis Howard, born July 16, 1842, was also 
in the Forty-fourth Massachusetts. Fred Les- 
lie, born February 2, 1849, is one of the firm 
of C. A. Browning & Co., of Boston, whole- 
sale dealers in millinery goods. 

George Burrill Howard, the fifth son, 
attended in his boyhood the common and 
private schools of North Bridgewater. He 
subsequently served a three years' apprentice- 
ship to the tinsmith's trade, and then entereil 
Martin L. Keith's shoe factory in Brockton, 
where he was employed for a number of years. 
When he was twenty-one he began to deal in 
real estate, and he was successful in that 
business. He is well known in Brockton, 
and is a worthy representative of the family 
to whicli he belongs. A Republican in pol- 
itics, Mr. Howard stands high in the esteem 
of his fellow-partisans. In 1886 he was 
appointed Assistant Assessor, and served four 
years. In 1S90 he was appointed Assessor, 
and has been in office continuously since. 

He was married in 1870 to Elizabeth Mar- 
tin, a native of West Bridgewater, daughter of 
Charles N. Martin, and they became the par- 
ents of two children, namely: Mildred B., 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



8i 



horn August 6, 1872, who died Octohcr 28, 

1 892; and Mahcl M., born July 24, 1876. In 

religious lielief Mr. and Mrs. Howard are 
Unitarians. 



Y^ATHANIEL SHAW, a veteran of the 
I =y ("ivil War, who conducts a thriving 
J-^ \^ grocery business in Plymouth, was 
born in Carver, Mass., December 14, 1S36, 
son of Nathaniel and Betsey (Shurtleff) Shaw. 
His grandfather, Nathaniel (first), who resitied 
in Carver, was accidentally killed by a falling 
tree when he was thirty-five years old. Of 
the grandfather's five children, there arc three 
living, the eldest of whom has reached the age 
of ninety years. Nathaniel Shaw (second), 
Mr. Shaw's father, was also born in Carver. 
He learned the trade of a hollow-ware moulder 
in Ellis's foundry, where he was afterward em- 
ployed for many years. In the spring and 
summer a good farm gave him am]ile employ- 
ment for all his surplus time. He died at the 
age of si.\ty-five years, regretted by all who 
knew him as an industrious man and a good 
citizen. His wife, lietsey, born in Carver in 
1806, was a daughter of Captain Gideon Shurt- 
leff, also a native of Carver, and a son of 
Abial Shurtleff. The Shurtleffs descend from 
William Shurtleff, who came to this country 
in the " Mayflower," and they are mentioned 
in a work, entitled "A Nameless Nobleman," 
written by Jane G. Austin. Abial Shurtleff, 
Mr. Shaw's maternal great-grandfather, who 
was born in Marshfield, Mass., moved to 
Carver when a young man. Of a strong phy- 
sique, he continued hale and hearty up to the 
time of his death. When close on ninety-four 
years old, he walked from Carver to Plymouth, 
a distance of nine miles. Captain Gideon 
Shurtleff worked at his trade of moulder in 
the winter, ami was engaged in farming dur- 
ing the summer season. For several vears he 



was Captain of a military company; and during 
the War of 1812, when the British troops 
landed at Wareham, Mass. , he commanded a 
company of the volunteers organized to meet 
and oppose their advance. He was the father 
of seventeen children, among whom was 
Betsey, Mr. Shaw's mother. Mrs. Nathaniel 
Shaw reared nine of her eleven children, five 
sons and four daughters. Of these, Nathan 
(third) was the fourth born. The mother 
lived to the age of sixty-seven. 

The third Nathaniel Shaw, who is the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was educated in the schools 
of Carver. He afterward assisted his father 
upon the farm until he was nineteen years old. 
Then he obtained employment in Ellis's 
foundry, where he remained for some time. 
Later he went to the Kingston foundry, where 
he continued to work for a year. From there 
he went to Pratt's foundry in North Carver, and 
then to Watertown, Mass., where he followed 
his trade until 1862. In this year he enlisted 
as a private in Company B, Third Regiment, 
Massachusetts \'olunteers, under Colonel 
Richmond, and subsequently participated in 
the North Carolina campaign, doing picket 
duty in and around Newbcrne, N. C, and in 
the battles of Kingston, Whitehall, and 
Goldsboro. After receiving his discharge 
in 1863, he returned to Watertown, and re- 
mained there for some three years. At the 
expiration of that time he came to Plymouth, 
where he was for the succeeding ten years 
employed at the Plymouth Iron Foundry. He 
then formed a copartnership with Mr. Hatch, 
and has since carried on the grocery business 
here under the firm name of Hatch & Shaw. 

Mr. Shaw has been twice married. His 
first wife, a native of Carver, whose maiden 
name was Lucy Vail, died in 1876. She left 
one son, E. A. Shaw, who is now engaged in 
the grocery business in Stoughton, Mass. In 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1878 Mr. Shaw contracted his second marriage 
with Julianna Baker, a daughter of William 
VV. Baker, of Plymouth. He is a member of 
Patu.xet Colony, No. 103, Pilgrim Fathers, and 
a comrade of Cadlingwood Post, No. "jG^ Grand 
Army of the Republic, of which he has been 
Commander. In politics he supports the Re- 
publican party, and, although he is well quali- 
ficfl to fill sundry town offices, he invariably 
declines nomination as a candidate. 



Tt-j\UFUS E. PACKARD, real estate 
I I^V^ agent and man of affairs, of Brock- 
!>* v ^ ^ ton. Mass., formerly North Bridge- 
water, was born in a house that stood on ]5el- 
mont Street, near Charles Eaton's private resi- 
dence, July 28, 1836. He is a son of the late 
Lorenzo E. and Wealthy (Sylvester) Packard, 
jjoth of North Bridgewater. 

The Packards are an old New England fam- 
ily. Samuel Packard, the first of the name 
in this country, came from Windham, near 
Hingham, luigland, in the ship " Diligence, " 
of Ipswich, and settled in Hingham, Mass., in 
1638. From there he moved to West Bridge- 
water, where for a number of years he kept a 
tavern ; and for some time he was constable of 
the town. He had a family of twelve chil- 
dren. Zaccheus, the third child, married 
Sarah Howard, and reared nine children. His 
son, Zaccheus, Jr., was married in 1725 to 
Mercy, daughter of Isaac Alden, and had a 
family of six children. Isaac Aldeji was a 
grandson of John and Priscilla (Mullins) 
Alden. Zaccheus Packard, Jr., died in 1775, 
aged eighty-two years. His son, Simeon, 
who was born March 30, 1736, was married 
on July 6, 1761, to Mary, daughter of Mark 
Perkins, and died October 23, 181 5, aged 
nearly eighty years. His widow died October 
22, 1820, aged eighty-one. Eleven children 



were born to this couple. Their third child, 
Zenas, who was the grandfather of Rufus E. 
Packard, was born May 22, 1771, and died 
April 20, 1854, aged nearly eighty-three 
years. Zenas Packard was an active church 
member, holding the office of Deacon for a 
number of years. His wife, Deborah, whom 
he married in 1793, was a daughter of Eben- 
ezer Thayer. She died October i, 1854. 
They were blessed with a family of ten 
children. 

Lorenzo Emerson Packard, son of Zenas and 
Deborah Packard, was born in North Bridge- 
water, August 6, 1 8 10, and was educated in 
the common schools of this town. He spent 
his life, with the e.xception of two or three 
years, in his native place, and followed shoe- 
making for a livelihood. Though not an as- 
pirant for office, he was actively interested in 
politics, voting originally with the Whigs, 
afterward with the Republicans. He served 
on the Prudential School Committee in look- 
ing after supplies for school-houses in his dis- 
trict, and was Clerk of the Board. He was a 
]jrominent Congregationalist. He was mar- 
ried November 18, 1832, to Wealthy, daughter 
of Gustavus Sylvester, of North Bridgewater. 
She died in 1876. He lived to the age of 
eighty-one years. Their children were nine 
in number, namely: Eineline Frances, now 
the wife of 1<". li. Allen ; Rufus P^merson, the 
subject of this sketch; Caroline Augusta, the 
wife of John O. Plmerson ; Martha Adelaide, 
who died at about twenty years of age; 
Wealthy Alice, who died in 1893; Fallen 
Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Luella Mi- 
nerva, who married George A. Warren; Ho- 
ratio Lyman, who died in infancy; and Syl- 
vester Fremont, who is married and resides in 
Brockton. 

Rufus Emerson Packard, the eldest son, re- 
ceived a common-school education, distin- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RF.VIEW 



83 



giiishiiii; liimscll as a [m\)i\ by winiiiiiy a prize 
hodk offered for excellence in scholarship. 
This success was the more remarkable from 
the fact that at the very early age of seven 
years he was set to work at pegging shoes, 
both before and after school hours, now and 
then even at noontime, so that he had no un- 
usual opportunities for stud)'. He left school 
at the age of fourteen, and went to work at 
shoemaking; aiul for some time he was foreman 
of rooms in different factories. lie also man- 
aged a room of his own, employing a large 
number of hands. The constant strain of in- 
door work at length undermined his health; 
and in 1886 he turned his attention for a while 
to canvassing. subsec|uently opening an intelli- 
gence office. This he closed up after a time, 
and has since devoted his energies to real 
estate and insurance, in which he has been 
very successful. At present he has the man- 
agement of much of the real estate business in 
Campello; and ho has a number of private 
estates to look alter, including those of Martin 
I.. Keith, the Hon. Ziba C. Keith, and Preston 
H. Keith. Mr. Packard is also an auctioneer. 

Mr. Packard was married in 1855 to Eliza- 
beth K., daughter of Cushing Otis, of East 
Ikidgewater. She died in 1869; and her chil- 
dren, three in number, have also passed away. 
While she was living, Mr. Packard resided in 
I'iast Hridgewater. On April 1 7, 1S71, he 
was united to his second wife, Mary W. , 
daughter of Vinal Lyon, of Brockton. Hy 
this union he has one son, (iraiuiUe L. , a 
graduate of the Brockton High School, now 
cashier and book-keeper for the .Standard Oil 
Company. (Granville I.. Packard was married 
in 1S95 to Ther.sa I-:., daughter of John Shep- 
ard, of Camjiello. 

Mr. Rufus K. Packard, who is a Republican, 
was Chairman of the Republican City Com- 
mittee and Chairman of the Ward 3 Commit- 



tee several years; has been two years Treas- 
urer of the Republican County Campaign Com- 
mittee, and Warden for fifteen years of Ward 
3, since Brockton became a city; and almost 
every year he is elected a delegate to some 
convention. He has been Constable seven or 
eight years, and was a]ipointed Justice of the 
Peace by Governor Ames and reappointed by 
Governor Greenhalge. On June 22, 1871, 
twenty-five years ago, he became a member of 
Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, Independent Oriler 
of Odd Fellows, of which he has been trustee 
fifleen years. He has passed all the chairs of 
the lodge, and is a member of the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts. He is a member of 
Brockton Lodge, No. 218, Knights of Honor 
(having been trustee of this body also fifteen 
years), and also Past Dictator of the Lodge; 
and he belongs to Beatrice Lodge, No. 27, 
Daughters of Rebecca. Mr. Packard, wife, 
and son attend the .South Congregational 
Church, anil he is a member of the Congrega- 
tional Club. 



'ffffOIIX KL\SLI-:V, a native resident of 
Lakeville, was born on the farm which 
is now his home, April 3, 1829. His 
parents were Unite and Susanna (Alden) 
Kinsley. 

I'nite Kinsley was born in Bridgewater, 
Mass., but removed to Middleboro at an early 
age. He was a millwright by trade and was 
an enterprising man, managing a cotton-mill 
in Taunton, Mass., for a number of years. 
After his marriage he settled on the farm now 
occupied by his son in Lakeville. He did 
not live to enjoy the leisure of old age, but 
was called to pass from earth in 1833, when 
he was but fortv-two years (dd. His wife lived 
to be fourscore, ]iassing away in 1875. Their 
remains rest in the Precinct Cemetery. 
Seven children were born to this couple. 



S-l 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



namely: Susan A., who married William W. 
Nelson; Lydia H. , who married O. Haskins; 
Mary, who married J. C. Haskins; 13etsey ; 
Alvin; John, the subject of this sketch; and 
Sarah. 

J(jhn Kinsley and his sister Betsey are the 
(inly surviving members of his family. He 
was born and reared on the farm, receiving his 
education in the schools near by. He began 
to work as a carpenter when seventeen years of 
age, learning his trade in Middleboro, and was 
employed in the vicinity of his home until 
1854. In that year the gold e.xcitement, which 
began in 1849, still continuing, he went 
West, joining the multitude of Eastern men 
who were seeking their fortunes on the Pa- 
cific slope. He travelled by water, landing at 
San I'^rancisco, and remained there for a while, 
finding the surest and safest way of making 
money was to work at his trade. In 1856 he 
returned East, and after living for a number 
of years in New Bedford returned to the home 
of his childhood, where he has been content to 
spend the years that have followed. 

Mr. Kinsley has many interesting remini- 
scences of the California of the early fifties, 
the many types of men who congregated there, 
and the lawless life of the time; and, like 
many another New England man who sought 
that El Dorado, he agrees that, though wealth 
was easily got and lavishly spent, though there 
was little restraint from law or public opinion, 
there was no such genuine comfort to be found 
as there is in a New England farm home. 
Mr. Kinsley is highly esteemed in his native 
town. In politics he is a Prohibitionist. 




HOMAS DROHAN, Probation Officer 
of ]5rockton, Mass., is an ex-State 
Detective, and has held various other 
positions of public trust. He was born in 



Tramore, Waterford County, Ireland, May i, 
1844, son of James and Helen (Elynn) 
Drohan. 

His grandfather, Edwartl Drohan, who was 
born in Hackettstown, near the estate of the 
Marquis of Waterford, was an extensive 
farmer, owning three hundred acres of land, 
whereon he raised horses, cattle, and dairy 
produce. He married and became the father 
of five children, two boys and three girls, of 
whom Pollen, a resident of Waterford, is the 
only survivor. James Drohan, born in 181 3, 
son of Thomas, was head gardener on the 
Powers estate. He married Helen P'lynn, and 
they had five children, two of whom died in 
early life. Two boys, Thomas and his brother 
Edward, and one girl were left fatherless in 
1852. 

Thomas Drohan received a part of his edu- 
cation in Tramore, and came with his widowed 
mother to America in 1853, the year after his 
father's death. They settled in Ouincy, 
Mass., but removed on July 3, 1855, to Brock- 
ton, where they went to housekeeping. For 
a time Thomas was in the employ of Sherman 
T. Moore and others in the shoe business, 
subsequently taking contract work, which he 
filled by the labor of his own hands. When 
the war broke out he wanted to enlist, but was 
refused on account of being too young. Eater, 
on August II, 1862, at the call of President 
Lincoln for three hundred thousand more, he 
enlisted in Company H, Thirty-thii'd Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, and went to 
Washington, waiting at Alexandria for General 
McClellan. The company arrived at Bull Run 
the second day of the retreat, going back 
thereafter to defend Alexandria, being near 
P'airfax Cemetery. After taking part in the 
battle of P'redericksburg, they forced their 
way across the Rappahannock, not having their 
clothes off for nine days. Subsequently, sent 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



SS 



l)ack t(i iMcdcrickshuig, tlicv toni;iinccl tlu-rc 
until spring. 

They were then sent to ChanceUorsville to 
drive the rebels out, young Thomas being on 
|)ickct dut)'. l'"r(ini Heverly i'"(ird tbcv went 
to Gettysburg, where he was woundctl, his 
regiment ()ccuii)ing Cemetery Hill the first 
day, and Teach Orchard the second day; and 
at I'rankstiiwii thev drii\'e the confederates to 
the river, (ioing thence to Chattanooga, 
Teiin., lie was ])romotetl to Corjjoral for his 
liravcry, iicing one of the lirst to cross the 
breastworks at Raccoon II ill, October 20, 
1863. At Lookout Mountain and Mission 
Ridge his regiment was on the e.xtreme right 
under General Hooker. Then followed the 
battles of Bayard's Roost, Tunnel Hill, and 
Resaca (the latter fought on Sunday, May 15, 
1864), and Hent Hickory, May 25. After that 
they were skirmishing all the wa)' till they 
arrived at Kenesaw Mountain. Here Mr. 
Urohan was wounded and sent to the rear, 
subsecjuently going to the hospital. As soon 
as he was able he went home, but returned to 
his regiment after a short furlough, and re- 
ceived his discharge in Washington at the end 
of the war. Geneial Hunker com])liniented 
hiin for keeping his military eciuipments in 
order, quaintly remarking, "Your gun looks 
good enough to eat." 

Coming back to Hrockton Mr. Urohan re- 
sumed contract work, later entering the em- 
ploy of C. R. T'oril ; still later, for three 
years, he served in (lardncr J. Kingman's shoe 
factory, and iluring one \ear he drove a candy 
team for V. H. Washburn. In his political 
affiliations Mr. Drohan is a Republican, who 
has been officially prominent. In nSjS he 
was elected Constable, and in 1879 and i88o 
he was delegated to night duty on the jDoiice 
force. The following year he was Constable, 
being on day duty. In 1882 he was appointed 



by Ma\(ir Keith Assistant City Marshal. He 
and Mr. Littlefield enforced the liquor law 
very strictly, so strictly, in fact, it is said, 
that he was discharged by the Democratic 
Mayor, 11. H. Packard. Mr. Drohan's per- 
sonal friends, who are many, thereupon pro- 
cured him a position on the State Detective 
force under Governor Hutler. He was on duty 
one year, and in 1884 he officiated as Con- 
stable and Truant Officer, continuing in this 
position a number of years, being obliged to 
serve many writs. T'or twelve years he col- 
lected delinquent ta.xes. Since 1891 he has 
served as Probation (Officer, being appointed 
by Mayor Keith, and in 1891 reappointed, 
according to the new law by Judge Reed. 

In 1866 Mr. Drohan was united in marriage 
with Miss Moore, a daughter of Michael 
Moore, who was one of the first Irishmen to 
settle in this city. By this alliance there 
were eight children : Catherine; James; Annie, 
who died; Thomas limmett ; Ldward W'alter; 
TLllen; William; and Mary. James Drohan 
sper.t three years at the Holy Cross College 
in Worcester; was graduated from the Medical 
Department of Harvard College in 1895; anil 
is now a medical ])ractitiQner in Rockland, 
Mass. Catherine married James Madden, and 
resides here. 'Thomas Lmmett is an electri- 
cian for the West Lnd Railway Company. 
Edward Walter is connected with the Brockton 
'I'iiins. Kllen attends the Brockton High 
School, and William and Mary are also living 
under the paternal roof and attending school. 

Fraternally, Mr. Drohan is a member of 
Fletcher Webster Post, No. 13, Grand Army 
of the Republic, which he has served as 
Quartermaster, and of the I'nion Veterans 
l^nion. He has an excellent memory, his 
army experience alone furnishing him much 
food for pleasing as well as pathetic reflec- 
tions. His brother, Fdward F., who enlisted 



86 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



at East Brjdgewater in the Twenty-ninth 
Massachusetts Regiment, after participating in 
many engagements, was wounded at the battle 
of Cedar Mountain, and was sent to I-'ighth 
Street Hospital, where he died. He was 



buried at Arlington. N' 
sister living in Brockton. 



[r. Drohan has one 




LBERT A. SHERMAN, an iron 
moulder, now retired from active 
business, is a resident of Blymouth, 
Mass., where for a number of years he was 
foreman of the Plymouth Iron Foundry. He 
was born in Carver, Mass., March i6, 1829, 
son of Micah and Mercy R. (Ransom) Sher- 
man. 

Micah Sherman was born in Carver, Febru- 
ary 24, 1783. He followed agricultural pur- 
suits during the active period of his life, till- 
ing the soil with energy and success. He 
died in his native town in February, 1868, at 
the age of eighty- five years. His wife, Mercy 
R. Ransom, a native of New York, who was 
born November 24, 1786, died April 29, 1842. 
They had ten children, of whom Albert A., 
the subject of this sketch, is the only one liv- 
ing. The others were: Joseph Ransom, who 
was born March 10, 1805; Rufus, who was 
born October 22, 1806; Polly, who was born 
September 25, 1808; Lucy, who was born 
November 13, 1811; Micah, who was born 
May ig, 1814; William M., who was born 
August 29, 1816; Eliza, who was born No- 
vember 22, 1819; Eydia R., who was born 
January 21, 1823; and .Sarah S., who was 
born November 25, 1824. The parents at- 
tended the Congregational church. 

Albert A. Sherman, the youngest born of 
the ten children, acquired his educatidii in his 
native town, and at the age of fourteen he 
began to serve an apprenticeship at the iron 



moulder's trade. After mastering his trade he 
worked as a journeyman for I^avid Pratt six 
months, going from Carver to Middleboro, 
where he was for a shoit time employed at the 
foundry of Thompson & Tinkham. He was 
ne.xt employed by Cobb & Drew in Plymouth; 
and from this town he went to I'^all River, 
where for five years he worked in the stove 
manufactory of William Cogswell. After 
sLibsequently working in Pratt & Co. 's shops 
at VVatertown Mills for two years, and in 
Somerset, Mass., for three years, he returned 
to Plymouth, where he was employed at 
Hobb's Hole, now VVellingsley ; and during 
the war he was engaged in the manufacture of 
shot and shell at Watertown. In 1S68 he 
once more took up his residence in this town, 
becoming connected with the Plymouth Iron 
P\)undry, wheie he continued until the suspen- 
sion of that concern a short time since, having 
ably filled the position of foreman for ten or 
twelve years. 

Mr. Sherman married for his first wife Car- 
oline French, daughter of William French, of 
Fall River. She died March i, 1852; and in 
June, 1868, he wedded Mrs. Mary H. Harlow, 
born P'uller, whose first husband was Justus 
Harlow, a resident of Plymouth and a tailor 
by trade, who died at b\irtress Monroe tluring 
the Ci\'il War. .She was born in Kingston, 
daughter of Captain Albert and Mary (Chase) 
P"uller, the former of whom was a native of 
Sandwich, Barnstable Count)', Mass. Captain 
Albert ]'"uller was a ship-master engaged in 
the West India trade. He died of yellow 
fever in San Domingo in 1844, aged forty-two 
years. His wife, Mary Chase, who was a 
native of Barnstable, Mass., was the mother 
of six children, of whom Mrs. Sherman is the 
youngest. Three are now living, namely: 
Frederick C, a jeweller of Pro\idence, R.I. ; 
Cynthia C, Mrs. Simmons; and Mary H., 




ALEXANDER VINING. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



89 



Mrs. Sherman. The otlicrs were: Albert C, 
who (lied \(iung; lulwarti Mortimer; and Mary 
Helen. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman have two 
children, as follows: Clarence, who is en- 
gaj;;ed in the oil stove Inisiness; and l.eon 
Allen, an electrician, who is connected with 
the riymoulh I'llectric Railwav. 

Mr. .Sherman is a Reijuhlican in jiolitics, 
and cast his first Presidential vote for John C. 
I'remont in 1856. Fraternally, he is con- 
necteil with Mayflower Lodge, Inde|)endent 
Order of Odd l'"eIlows; and he attends the 
Baptist church, of which Mrs. Sherman is an 
active member. Since the closing up of the 
fninidry he has been passing his time quietly 
at his comfortable home, where he is enjoying 
a pleasant season of rest after an unusual Iv 
long jjcriod of useful activity. 




(£)|X I-l*-XANDb:R VINING. late a promi- 
nent leather merchant, and one of the 
best-known commercial men of 
Hoston. who died at his home in (Juincy, 
-Mass., January 21, icS85, was born in South 
Scituate, May 11, 1817, son of Alexander, 
Sr., and Polly (Jacobs) Vining. lie was a 
descendant of two Colonial families of rei)ute, 
the re]ircsentatives of both being noted for 
their intellectual attainments, sturdy charac- 
ter, ami stanch patriotism. 

Alexander Vining, Sr. , father of the subject 
of this sketch, was a native of East Abington, 
Mass., now Rocklantl. Having acquired a 
liberal education, he became a school-teacher, 
and was for many years [irincipal of the l-iast 
Abington High School. As a member of the 
Whig party in politics, he took an active part 
in securing capable persons for the public 
service, although he never sought or held office 
himself. In his religious views he was a 
Universalist, and he serveil as Deacon of that 



church. His useful life ended at a good old 
age, and the reccjrd of his career was an e.N- 
ceedingly bright and hoiKjrahle one. His 
wife, Polly Jacobs, was a daughter of Ca|)tain 
Joshua Jacobs. 

Her father was a son of Joshua Jacobs, of 
Scituate, Mass., and a lineal descendant of 
Nicholas Jacob, who settled in Hingham, 
Mass., in 1633. John Jacob, son of Nicho- 
las, born in England in 1630, was the father 
of David, who was born in Hingham, Mass.. 
in 1664, and about 1688 .settled in Scituate, 
Mass., evidently being the first of his surname 
in that town. He married Sarah Cushing, 
and, as we learn from Deane's "History of 
Scituate," was the father of eleven children, 
including a son Joshua, born in 1702. Mrs. 
V'ining's father, Joshua, .son of Joshua, joined 
the Continental army as a Captain in the 
Twenty-third Regiment of Infantry in 1776, 
and, after serving with honor all through the 
Revolutionary War, he remained in the Fed- 
eral service during the rest of his active life. 
He died at the age of seventy-eight years. 
Mrs. Polly Jacobs Vining was a lady of un- 
usual intelligence and advanced education, a 
graduate of the old Watson School in 
Charlestown, Mass. She died at the age of 
seventy -five years. Alexander, the subject of 
this sketch, was her only child. 

Alexander \'ining was educated in the com- 
mon schools of South Scituate, and ho resided 
in his native town until he was forty years 
i>l(l. In 1857 he removed to Hull. Mass., 
where he engaged Iti the hotel business as pro- 
prietor of the Nantasket House; and three 
years later he removed to the Mansion House 
at Wind Mill Point, of which he was pro- 
prietor until it was destroyed by fire on Feb- 
ruary 12, 1S72. About the year i860 he en- 
gaged in the wholesale leather business in 
Hoston. where he becante one of the most 



90 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



prominent and enterprising merchants in that 
line of trade, and his connection with it con- 
tinued until within two years of his death, 
which took place as above stated, at the age of 
nearly sixty-eight years. As a business man 
he was energetic and progressive, and always 
made a success of whatever he undertook. 

It is generally conceded that he kept the 
best summer hotel along the beach, and in 
commercial circles he reached an enviable 
standing as a high-minded and upright busi- 
ness man, who fully merited the respect and 
esteem which was accorded him by his mer- 
cantile associates. While a resident of Hull 
he took an active part in public affairs and the 
general improvement of the town, serving as 
a member of the Board of Selectmen for 
several years. He was the original projector 
of the first county road from Hull village to 
the Rockland House, and was mainly instru- 
mental in securing its completion. For sev- 
eral years previous to his death he resided in 
Quincy, Mass., but he always preserved a sin- 
cere affection for his native town of South 
Scituate (now Norwell); and his remains were 
interred there. Politically, he was a Repub- 
lican, and in his religious views he was 
liberal. 

In 1857 Alexander \'ining was united in 
marriage with Fanny Margaret Ravmond, 
daughter of Captain Lewis Raymond, a well- 
known ship-master of South Scituate. By this 
union there were two children, only one of 
whom, namely, Floretta, now survives. Mrs. 
\^ining died May 24, 1865. 

Miss Floretta Vining inherited a large fort- 
une from her father, and her ample means 
have been, and are still, used liberally in 
doing good. In the month of May, 1885, she 
took up her residence at Seaside Cottage, the 
former summer home of her father, and she 
occupied it until March 12, 1890, when it was 



destroyed by fire. She was upon a visit to 
Washington, D.C., at the time. On May 20 
of the same year she began the erection of her 
present summer dwelling, which is known as 
Vining Villa. During the summer she was in 
Europe, and upon her return in the fall, the 
villa was ready for occupancy. Here she 
resides through the summer months, but dur- 
ing the winter season she occupies apartments 
at the Parker House, Boston. She is a prom- 
inent member of literary and social circles of 
that city, belonging to many noted clubs and 
other organizations, in which she is very pop- 
ular, taking an active interest in their devel- 
opment and usefulness. 

She is the first Regent of John Adams 
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion; was the second New England lady ad- 
mitted to membership of Sorosis, the leading- 
women's club of New York City; is the first 
Vice-President of the Abbott Academy Club, 
of Andover, Mass. ; has been Auditor of the 
New England Women's Press Association 
since its organization; is a Director of the 
Women's Club-house Corporation, which has 
in contemplation the erection of a club-house 
for women in Boston; and is a member of the 
Playgoers" Club. During the past five years, 
through her influence several wealthy people 
have been led to build cottages at Hull, and 
her own pleasant summer home here has been 
the scene of many distinguished gatherings. 
She is a believer in and an earnest advocate 
of the Greater Boston, recognizing that Hull 
will, as a district of Boston, receive the needed 
police patrol, so that it will become more and 
more the summer residence of Boston's best 
people, as a place where they may be entirely- 
free from those evils that characterize many of 
the near-by summer resorts. She displays the 
same interest in increasing the conveniences 
of Hull that characterized her father. She 




MISS FLORETTA VININC. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



93 



was the means of securing a daily mail, and, 
by a strenuous effort on her part, at last had it 
increased to two deliveries per day, although 
she was obliged to visit Washington and make 
a personal apjieal to the Post-office Depart- 
ment. She was the main instigator in the 
laying out of Spring Street, the jiroject of 
which was opposed by the ti)wn officers, but 
she at last succeeded in causing the County 
Commissioners to order its construction. She 
was the means of establishing at Stony Beach, 
Hull, a United States Life-Saving Station, 
which has done such good service in saving 
men from shipwreck. 

Originally, the only conveyance to Hull was 
by barge to North Cohassett. Miss Vining 
was instrumental in raising a public subscrip- 
tion, with the object of inducing the Old 
Colon)- Railroad to establish railroad com- 
munication with the place. The project was 
entirely successful, the sum of one thousand 
dollars being raised, which proved sufficient 
for the ])urpose. Hull now has seven regular 
trains per day, with additional accommoda- 
tions in the summer Miss Vining also in- 
duced the town to ap|)ropriate one thousand 
tlollars jjer year to pay for carrying to Hing- 
liam the children who attend the high school 
there. With the ready consent of the male 
residents. Miss Vining takes part in t<jwn 
meetings, and all practical measures for the 
public good find in her an earnest and effi- 
cient advocate. Her voice is heard in their 
public discussion, and she is usually the main 
factor in their e.xecution. 

Miss \'ining is a lady of much physical 
vitality, as well as of superior mental force, 
and her interest once assured in connection 
with any worthy object, her aid and influence 
in its behalf is sure to follow. She seems to 
live solely for the purpose of doing good in a 
practical way; and that she is accomplishing 



her f)bjcct can be attested by the large number 
who have i)rofited by her generosity. She has 
a penchant for helping needy and worthy 
young men, insisting always that they also 
strive to help themselves. Many who to-day 
are occupying good positions owe all they are 
to the fact that Miss \'ining tided them over 
the hard spot in life. In a cpiiet unostenta- 
tious way Miss Vining has done this noble 
work, and many deeds of charity has she per- 
formed that the world knows not of. The 
highest reward, and the only one the lady 
asks, is the joy of doing service with good 
will. 




KNR\' <). l.rr 11. !•;, President of the 
Hridgewater Bo.x Comjiany, one of 

.^ V^ ^ ^ the prosperous manufacturing enter- 
prises of this busy section of the State, was 
born in Columbia, Conn., May 22, 1848. 
His parents, David and JClizabcth (ScovilJe) 
Little, were also natives of Columbia. His 
grandfather, Norman Little, served in the 
War of 1S12. David Little taught in the 
common schools of Connecticut for forty years, 
at the same time managing a farm. He was 
highl\- respected by his fellow-citizens, who 
elected him to the office of Deputy Sheriff of 
Tolland County. His wife, also an intelli- 
gent lady, taught school for some time. 

Henry ( ). Little remained in his native 
State until he was about fifteen years of age, 
obtaining his education in the common schools. 
He then went to \'ineland, N.J., and for a 
number of years was engaged in raising fruit 
for the whole.salc trade, owning a large farm, 
which he devoted to that industry. In 1872 
he removed to Bridgewater, Mass., and here 
for some time followed the same occupation, 
raising fruit and seeds and disposing of them 
at wholesale. In 1890 the Bridgewater Bo.\ 
Company was organized, and Mr. Little, being 



94 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



one of the incorporators, was elected President 
at that time. The company have a vvell- 
equijiped plant with improved machinery, and 
employ on an average forty hands the year 
round. They deal in all kinds of lumber, and 
manufacture shooks and wooden packing bo.xes 
of various kinds, making a specialty of lock- 
corner and printed bo.xes. The factory is 
fitted with every convenience including tele- 
l)hone. In a business sense Mr. Little is a 
self-made man, having achieved prosperity 
through his own unaided efforts. 

He has been twice married. His first wife, 
Miss Elsie M. Perry, of Springfield, Vt., was 
a descendant of Commodore Perry, who won 
immortal fame by his brilliant victory on 
Lake Erie in 1813. She left one son — Wal- 
ter S. , the present Treasurer of the Bridge- 
water Po.x Company. The present Mrs. 
Little, who is of pjiglish birth, was Miss 
Louise B. Hudson. 

Mr. Little, who is a Republican, served for 
several years on the Board of Selectmen of 
Bridgewater. As a Mason he is a member of 
Fellowship Lodge; and he was a charter mem- 
ber and the first officer of Harmony Chapter, 
Royal Arch Masons, of l^ridgewater ; and for 
two years he has served as I^istrict Deputy 
Grand Master of the Grand Chapter, Royal 
Arch Masons, of Massachusetts. He is also a 
member of Old Colony Commandery, Knights 
Temjilars, at Abington. Mr. Little has a wide 
circle of acquaintance, and stands high in the 
esteem of his fellows. 



UGUSTUS HUNT WRIGHT is one 
if the leading men of Abington, 
Mass., taking part in all matters of 
local importance. A son of P^dmund and 
Sarah A. (Hunt) Wright, he was born in 
Boston, December 23, 1846. iMlniuml Wright 




was born in Boston, October 16, 1794. He 
was for some years publisher of the Boston 
Daily Patriot, and eventually disposed of the 
business to the Boston Daily Advertiser. He 
died in Boston in 1873. His wife died in 
1867, aged fifty-eight years. They had si.x 
children, one dying in infancy. The five liv- 
ing are as follows : Pldmund W. , Theodore I-'., 
Augustus H., Horace W. , and Mary A. 

Augustus H. Wright, the third son, ob- 
tained his early education in the public 
schools of Dorchester, and took a special 
course at the Agricultural College at Amherst, 
Mass. He was a lad in his teens when the 
war broke out, but he had a man's courage, 
and enlisted when only sixteen years old in the 
Second Massachusetts Cavalry. He served 
two years, and was commissioned at the age of 
eighteen P^irst Lieutenant of the Twenty- 
fourth United States Colored Infantry. After 
receiving his discharge from the army he was 
an Inspector in the Internal Revenue Service 
and stationed in Boston three years; for about 
three years he was superintendent of the lum- 
ber yard of George Curtis in Boston ; and then 
he folknved farming at West Ro.xbury, Mass., 
until 1879, when he became a resident of 
Abington. He was ten years Trustee of the 
Abington Savings Bank; for fifteen years he 
has been connected with the town fire depart- 
ment as chief engineer. He was ten years 
Chairman of the Road Commissioners, and for 
the same length of time Superintendent of the 
water-works. An esteemed member of the 
Grand Army, he was for six years Commander 
of McPherson Post, No. T^,. 

Mr. Wright has been twice married. He 
was united to his first wife, Julia P. Billings, 
October 21, 1868; and to his second wife, 
Jennie Billings, October i, 1874. He has one 
child — Edmund, who was born August i, 1877. 
In jiolitics Mr. Wright is a stanch Republican. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



95 



/^^TecORGE B. GODDARD, machinist, 
\J5 I of Ikuckton, is a veteran of the late 
war, with a record for bravery worthy 
of Ills r.ice, which was re|iresenteci in the army 
of Napoleon. lie was born in Bolton, Prov- 
ince of (.Jnebec, March 14, 1842, a son of Ed- 
ward I', and Josephine (Garnean) Goddard, 
i)f)th natives of the Canadian Province. 

His paternal grandfather, a native-born 
{■"renchman, fought under Napoleon, and also 
in Canada, in the battles of St. Charles and 
(Juebec. He died in the Province of Quebec 
at the advanced age of ninety-eight. A grant 
of land given him in Canada was never claimed 
by him or his posterity. He reared a family 
of fifteen children, all of whom attained ad- 
vanced age. 

lulward P. Goiklard was born near Sorrel, 
P.O., and for a number of \e;irs was engaged 
in farming in Bolton, his son's birthjilace, and 
in trading to some extent. He was one of the 
prominent men of the town, anil held a number 
of public offices. His death occurred in his 
forty-seventh year, his wife having been called 
to rest from the cares of earth when only thirty 
years of age. 

George B. Goddard was the eldest son in 
a fan>ilv of si.\ children, four boys and two 
girls. I'ntil he was nine \ears of age he lived 
on his father's farm in Bolton (an estate of si.\ 
hundred acres), and then the family moved to 
Manchaug, in the town of Sutton, Mass., 
where he went to work in a cotton-mill for a 
dollar a week, laboring from daylight until 
sundown. This continued for a year, and 
then another move was made, the family going 
to North O.xford, Mass. l-"or two years George 
worked in a cotton-mill in Wilmington, and 
then returned with his family to Canada, 
where his father settled once more on the 
home farm. 

The boy, who was then about thirteen years 



of age, soon left home and started in the world 
for himself, finding employment in S<iulh Na- 
tick, Mass., at shoemaking. About 1857 he 
shipped on a whaling vessel from New Hed- 

I ford, which was out from port some four years, 
and was twice cast away. The first time he 
was with si.x men in a boat which was sep- 
arated from the vessel about three hundred 
miles from the island of St. Helena, and they 
were adrift four days and three nights without 
food or water. The boat was finally guided 

■ to St. Helena; and on the island where Napo- 
leon spent so many gloomy hours they spent 
three months, being then taken off by their 
own vessel. The second time they were lost 

j for twenty-four hours oti the coast of Africa. 
On his return the young sailor received eighty- 
fi\e dollars as pay for his entire time. 

When his vessel returned to port, New^ Kng- 
hind was mustering to suppress the secession 
of the South, and on Augu.st 23, 1861, Mr. 
Goddard enlisted in Company A, Eirst Batta- 
lion, Seventeenth United States Regiment. 
He was in the Eifth Corps, Army of the 
Potomac, and was engaged in all the battles 
of the Peninsular Campaign under McClellan. 
In the battles of Bull Run. South Mountain, 
Antietam, Eredericksburg, and Chancellors- 
\ilie he saw his comrades fall around him. 
At Chancellorsville his regiment led the fight, 
and at the end of the battle not one of the 
color guard was left. Mr. Goddard bore the 
flag, and, with but nine men to support him, 
succeeded in defending it and returning safely. 
Eor his bravery in this action he was ap- 
pointed Color Sergeant, and he was later made 
Rank Sergeant of the regiment and urged by 
his superior officers to send his name to Wash- 
ington for a commission; but he refused to do 
it, fearing that he was not well enough edu- 
cated to adorn a higher rank. He was ap- 
jiointcd Captain of a colored regiment, but 



96 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



refused the honor for the same reason. He 
received three flesh wounds while in battle. 
In 1864 he received his discharge, and en- 
gaged in recruiting for the service until Lee's 
surrender, his duties calling him to the front 
and to Portland Harbor with troops. 

When the war was over he went to sea 
again, this time on a coaster plying between 
Boston and Philadelphia. He finally retired 
from the sea and went to work at shoemaking, 
being employed at different times in Natick, 
in BigeUnv's shoe shop in Worcester, in l?oyd 
& Corey's factory at Marlboro (three or four 
years), in Moss Brothers' factory, and in a 
factory at Cochituate. While in Marlboro he 
learned to operate different machines. P'rom 
Cochituate he went to Brockton, then to Rock- 
land, where he remained four months, return- 
ing then to Brockton. Here he obtained em- 
ployment as engineer and repairer in Lucius 
Leach's shoe shop, and remained seven years. 
He then took out his first ])atent on the Brock- 
ton mallet, now well-known to the shoe trade, 
and for a year manufactured his in\'ention in 
a small way. Not satisfied with his income, 
however, he went to work for wages again, 
entering the employ of Stacy, Adams & Co., 
with whom he remained about six years. In 
1 886 he resinned the manufacture of mallets, 
establishing a workroom in Charles Ploward's 
shoe shop; and in the fall of 1888 he purchased 
the building at 71 Field Street, Montello, his 
present jDlace of business. In addition to his 
manufacturing, which is now in a prosperous 
condition, Mr. Goddard is intei'ested in real 
estate. 

Mr. Goddard was married in 1873 to Alice 
M., daughter of Edward Hurd, of Nova Scotia, 
and has a daughter and a son. The son, who 
was for some time associated with his father, 
is now in the printing business. 

In politics Mr. Goddard is independent. 



He is a member of Electric Lodge, No. 204, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; of Dam- 
ocles Lodge, No. 16, Knights of Pythias; 
Brockton Division, No. 11, Uniform Rank, 
and Canton Nemasket ; the Ancient Essenic 
Order; the Royal Arcanum; the Knights of 
Honor; the Daughters of Rebekah ; the New 
England Order of Protection ; and the Ameri- 
can Benefit Society. As a Grand Army man 
he is a member of Fletcher Webster Post, No. 
13, and has held the rank of officer of the 
guard ; and he is at present officer of the guaid 
in the Union X'eterans' L'nion, and has been 
appointed delegate to the ne.xt national con- 
vention of the last-named body. 




MOS HUNTING, who, since the fall of 
1866 has been successfully engaged in 
the grocery, provision, grain, flour, 
hay, and straw business at East Bridgewater, 
was born in Shutesbury, Mass., April 12, 
1835, a son of Nathan and Melinda (Smith) 
Hunting. 

The Hunting family is said to be of Scotch 
origin. Amos Hunting, the father of Nathan, 
was a soldier in the Rex'olutionary \A'ar. In 
his early days Nathan Hunting engaged in 
mercantile business in Boston, but subse- 
cjuentlv retired to a farm in Shutesbury, where 
he lived until his death. Melinda Smith 
Hunting, his wife, was a native of Stoughton, 
Mass. They had five children — Nathan, 
Amos, Francis H., Mary A., and Henry M. 

Amos Hunting grew to manhood in Shutes- 
bury, and acquired his education in private 
schools and the high school of that town. 
When eighteen years old he entered the 
employ of the Fall River Railroad at what is 
now known as Westdale, as assistant station 
agent, and before long was promoted to the 
position of agent at that place, in which ca- 



BIOORAI'llICAI, RKVIKW 



97 



])acit\' he served five and a halt years. Dur- 
ing a |)(>rti(in n| that time he carried on a gro- 
cery store. In iS66hecame to ]-Iast Hridgc- 
watcr and started the hiisiness which he still 
conducts and which has deselopet! so that he 
now employs four clerks regularly and has a 
large and lucrative trade. 

On December 22, 1859, Mr. Hunting mar- 
ried Miss Margaret Orr Holbrook, who was 
born in Weymouth, Mass., and is a daughter 
of Arvin Holbrook. (H the eight children 
born to them but four are living, two sons and 
two daughters, namely; Melinda O. ; Jessie, 
wife of l'"rank Bradford ; I'red A. ; and 
Harry A. 

In politics Mr. Hunting is a Republican. 
During the Massachusetts legislative session 
of 1891 he was a member of the Lower House, 
and he is now serving as a register of voters 
of East Rridgowater. He is one of the Hoard 
of Trustees of the Mast liridgewater .Sa\'ings 
Bank. Mr. Hunting's success in his business 
dealings, and the hearty su|)i)ort he gives to 
plans for the development of the community, 
together with his many sterling qualities of 
character, all combine to make him a re- 
spected and popular citi/cu. 




LCIl'.S k. CHURCHILL, ..1 the 
tirni of Cihurchill & Washburn, 
plumbers and steam-titters of Brock- 
ton, was born in I'last Hridgewater, January 4, 
i860, a son of Rodney and Hannah G. (Reed) 
Churchill. Several generations of his family 
have lived in Hridgewater. 

IHs grandfather, Charles Churchill, resided 
in this vicinitv and worked at shoemaking for 
some time, eventually going into business and 
hiring a number of shoemakers. He married 
Dorcas Hawes, and they reared ten children, 
six of whom are living, uauieh' ; Charles; 



Newton; (ieorge; Rodney, father of Lucius 
R. ; Dorcas; and l*]lizabeth. Rodney Church 
ill was born in West Hridgewater in 1837, and 
is now living in l-!ast Hridgewater. He is 
shoe cuttei by trade. An active member of 
the Union Congregational Church, he is at 
])resent Treasurer of the society. His wife is 
a daughter of John Reed, of Hast Hridgewater. 
I'light children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Rodnev Churchill, Lucius R. being the 
second. 

Lucius R. Churchill was educated in West 
Hridgewater. He went to sea at the age of 
si.xteen and sailed on a merchantman two 
years, rounding Cajje Horn three times, <•« 
re////' to .San Francisco, and making one tri]) 
to Liverpool, England. l'"or four years after 
his return he worked as a shoe cutter, and he 
then obtained a position as book-keeper for 
R. G. Shejxird, who was engaged in steam- 
beating and engineering. After four years at 
the book-keeper's desk, he worked for Mr. 
Shepard three years as engineer, anil in 1890 
he started in the plumbing and steam-heating 
business for himself. On April 1, 1895, he 
formed a copartnership with William S. 
Washburn: and the firm of Chiu'chill & Wash- 
burn is now one of the most prosperous and 
reliable plumbing firms in the city. Mr. 
Churchill began business at Campello, and 
moved to his ]iresent stand si.\ months after 
starting, I'he first year he had ten men in 
his emplo), and he now keeps on an average 
thirty hands. 

Mr. Churchill was married in November, 
1882, to Cora J., daughter of Nathan M. 
Poole, of I-iast Hridgewater. He votes the 
Republican ticket, but takes no active part in 
politics, preferring to gi\e his time to his 
business. Well advanced in Masonry, he is a 
member of Satucket Lodge, A. V. & A. M . 
of East Hridgewater, in which he has held the 



98 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



office of Junior Warden ; and he belongs to 
Harmony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of 
Bridgewater, and Bay State Cornmandery, 
Knights Templars, of Brockton. He is a 
member of Campello Lodge, Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and of the Commercial 
Club of Brockton. He attends worshi]) at the 
Porter Congregational Church. 




"ULDA BARKER LOUD, of Rock- 
land, Mass., is one oi the bright and 
progressive women of the day, 
strong in mental gifts and executive ability. 
She was born in East Abington (now Rock- 
land), September 13, 1S44, daughter of 
Reuben and l^etsey (Whiting) Loud. 

Reuben Loud, Miss Loud's father, was a 
native of Weymouth, Mass. He owned a 
farm in Rockland, and after being engaged for 
several years as a shoe manufacturer he retired 
from business to farm life. He died at the 
age of seventv-eight. His wife, now sevent)'- 
seven years old, a native of historic Plym- 
outh, is living on the homestead in Rock- 
land. She is the mother of seven children, 
namely: Rienzi, formerly a lawyer in Albion, 
Mich., now deceased; Marcus M., deceased; 
Georgianna S. , wife of Major E. P. Reed, of 
North Abington; Hulda B. , the subject of 
this sketch; I'Aigene F., a resident of San 
Francisco, now serving his sixth year in Con- 
gress; Sarah Ann; and Clarice A., wife of 
James Beverly, of Rockland. 

Hulda Barker Loud was educated in East 
Abington, graduating from the high school at 
the age of seventeen ; and she began to teach 
when she was eighteen years old. As a 
teacher she displayed marked ability, and she 
had the courage to battle against an injustice 
which many bear in meek silence. A woman 
teacher, though performing as much work and 



work of as high a grade as a man, usually re- 
ceives a much smaller salary; but Miss Loud, 
who for thirteen years held a high position as 
a teacher in Rockland, received the salary of a 
male principal. She was awarded this salar)' 
because she demanded it, and constantly agi- 
tated the question of equal rights witii the 
school committee. 

In 1884 the publishers of a new paper asked 
Miss Loud to take the editorial chair, and she 
consented, naming the paper the liockland 
fudcpLudciit. Of this publication she is still 
editor-in-chief. Her energy would not be 
confined to the editorial chair alone, and in 
1889 she purchased the business — job print- 
ing and publishing — and is now sole proprie- 
tor of the office. The paper bears the impress 
of strong mentality, and has always been the 
\'ehicle of reformator\' [jrinciples, social and 
]3olitical. When, in 1889, Miss Loud became 
head of the establishment, she announced in 
the opening number that she had bought the 
business " to help save the world; that it was 
not a business venture in an\' sense of the 
word ; that the hnsiiuss would always be in 
charge of a foreman; that she desired a 
medium through which she could convey her 
best thought to the world, unhampered by 
worldly interests " (see "A Woman of the Cen- 
tury, " published in 1893). In addition to the 
Independent she publishes the North Abington 
Ncxvs and the North River Pioneer. The In- 
liependcnt was founded by E. C. Osborne and 
W. J. Barry, and Mr. Barry is at present local 
editor and has charge of the business matters 
to a great extent. 

Miss I^oud began to speak in public a num- 
ber of years ago, adx'ocating woman suffrage in 
1872-74, and speaking in behalf of the 
Knights of Labor at different times. At the 
Women's International Council, held in Wash- 
ington in 1888, she represented the Knights 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



iif Labor, aiui her address was received with 
enthusiasm. Slie spoke also at that time before 
tlie Knights ol Labor and the Aiiti- Poverty 
Societ)' of Washington, l^ut tiiough very suc- 
cessful as a speaker, she prefers home to pub- 
lic life, and finds newspaper work more con- 
genial than lecturing. She has been Chairman 
of the Board of Trustees of the Rockland 
I'ublic Library for the past si.\ years; served 
three years on the School Board of the town ; 
and for man)' years she has been accustomed 
to address town meetings on important topics, 
no one questioning her right to do so. In the 
spring of i8gi Miss Loud adopted two boys, 
her niece's chiklrcn, wiinni she governs whollv 
without force. She is a zealous apostle of the 
new mental science, though recognizing the 
claims of the body. 

She has built a house on her mother's farm, 
in a retired spot outside the village, and at- 
tends to her own domestic affairs, spending a 
few hours of the afternoon in her office, and 
passing the rest of the time in her own honie. 
Though Miss Loud works from si.xteen to 
eighteen hours a day, she was never physically 
or mentally stronger than now. She boasts 
that through sheer force of will she has never 
known a day's sickness, though she inherits 
many weaknesses. Altogether she is a re- 
markable woman, exemplifying strongly the 
power of mind over matter. She attends the 
Unitarian churcii. 




^^'•*'MLL1AM HROWX, of Abington, is 
J'-SV a self-made man, who, without edu- 
cational oi' other advantages, has 
raised himself to a position of prominence and 
honor in the community. He was born No- 
vember 6, 1813, in Abington, a son ot W'al- 
ston and Betsey (Wales) Brown. Like many 
of the citizens in this part of Plymouth 



County he comes of old New England stock, 
his ancestors having settled in Newburyport at 
an early date. Walston Brown was born in 
West Abington. Me died in 1857, aged 
si.\ty-nine years. His wife died at the age of 
seventy-nine years. They were the parents 
of the following children: Mary Adeline, 
Julia Caroline, Caroline Goodwin, Anna How- 
ard, and Nellie Davis. 

William Brown had but a limited school- 
ing in the days of his youth, a liberal educa- 
tion being harder to obtain then than now; 
but he was blessed with natural ability and an 
enterprising spirit, and early began to work 
his way toward prosperity. In 1839 he started 
in the confectionery business in Abington, 
and he managed a successful trade for twelve 
years ; then for about twenty years he was 
prosperously engaged in manufacturing shoes. 
In 1873 he retired from business, and has 
since been living quietly uijon the fruits of 
his years of activity. Mr. Brown has been 
for a number of years a Director of the Abing- 
ton Savings Bank, and was Vice-President 
from July, 1882, serving until July, 1889. 

lie was married November 17, 1845, to 
Julia Whiting, of Hingham, and five children 
blessed their union, two of whom are living: 
Mary Adeline, wife of George K. Curtis, of 
Boston ; and Anna Howard Brown, who is at 
home with her parents. 

Mr. Brown has four grandchildren, as fol- 
lows: William Goodwin, George Carroll, 
Paul Revere, children of Adeline, wife of 
George ¥^. Curtis; and Jesse Howard, son of 
the late Nellie Davis and Thomas Ford Giles. 

]\Ir. Brown is a Mason, belonging to John 
Cutler Lodge, of Abington, and Pilgrim 
Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter. In religious 
belief he is a Universal ist. He has been 
doubly blessed. Providence having given him 
wealth of years as well as wealth of this world's 



I02 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



goods; and at the advanced age of eighty-three 
he can look forward with reasonaiile hope to 
many pleasant hours to be enjoyed. 



]-:.S.Sl': HARLOW, who was for many 
years extensively engaged in the ship- 
ping business in Plymouth, Mass., was 
)orn in this historic old New England town, 
October 5, 1821. He was a son of Jesse and 
Mary L. (Nelson) Harlow, and a lineal de- 
.scendant of William Harlow, who was in 
Massachusetts as early as 1637 and later settled 
in Plymouth. Jesse Harlow, the younger, 
acquired a part of his educati<in at the Hiram 
Fuller School in Athens, and at one time, it 
is said, taught school in Plymouth. His 
health failing he took pas.sage to Liverpool, 
England, with the hope of recruiting his 
wasted energies. The sea voyage produced 
the desired effect, and after returning to Plym- 
outh he was able to enter upon his business 
career, succeeding to the charge of his father's 
shipping interests and attaining marked suc- 
cess. He was engaged in trade with the West 
India Islands and other countries, and was the 
owner of many fishing vessels, beside the other 
crafts that bore his cargoes to and fro. 

February 26, 1867, was the date of his mar- 
riage with Miss Sarah F. Cobb, a daughter of 
Heman Cobb, who was a well-known boot and 
shoemaker of Plymouth. Mr. Cobb died 
March 22, 1857. He was the father of a fam- 
ily of four children, of whom Mrs. Harlow is 
the only one now living. Devoting himself 
exclusively to business, Jesse Harlow was an 
unusual type of man ; for, though possessing 
sufficient influence to have easily attained any 
position or secured any office he desired, he 
had no ambition in this direction, and took 
but little interest in politics, belonging to 
none of the numerous popular fraternal organ- 



izations of the day. He was loyal to the re- 
ligious faith of his fathers, and for a quarter 
of a century he was Deacon of the Church of 
the Pilgrimage in his native town; while for 
the same period of time he taught in the Sun- 
day-school, leaving the impress of his instruc- 
tion and example upon the mind of manv of 
Plymouth's present citizens. 

On the 2 1st of August, 1887, Jesse Harlow 
passed through the vallev of the shadow of 
death, leaving a vacant place in the list of 
Plymouth's most respected citizens that will 
not be easily or speedily filled. He had some 
time before sold out his shipping interests, 
which had proved of great pecuniary value 
under his management. His bereaved widow 
is still a resident of the town in which her 
husband's honorable career began and ended, 
and where his meniorv is affectionately 
cherished. 



;,j^|OHN C. IMTCHELDER, M.D., of 
Rockland, Plymouth County, Mass., 
homceopathic physician and surgeon, 
was born in Middleton, Essex County, this 
State, May 9, 1864, and is a son of John A. 
and Laura A. (Couch) Patchelder. John A. 
Batchelder was born in Middleton, Mass. He 
has been in business as a shoe manufacturer 
for a number of years in Salem, Mass., his 
wife's birthplace. His family consists of 
three sons and two daughters, namely : Henry 
v., a practis-ing physician in Danvers, Mass. ; 
John C, of Rockland; Joseph W., who is in 
the fire insurance business in Hartford, Conn. ; 
Clementine L., in Salem; and a child who 
died in infancy. 

John C. Batchelder was one year old when 
his father removed to Salem, and in the 
famous city of witches he received his early 
education. He had a natural inclination for 
the profession of medicine; and after graduat- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'03 



ing from the high school, while employed as 
a book-keeper, he stiuliecl medicine with his 
brother, Henry F. Hatchelder, M.I). In 1883 
he entered Boston L'niversity, and, graduating 
from the Medical Department in 1887, he en- 
tered upon the duties of his profes.sion in 
Melrose, Mass. He subseciuently practised in 
Wenham, Mass., for three or four years, and 
then moved to Rockland, where, as successor 
to Dr. Southgato, he has since conducted a 
successful practice. Dr. Hatchelder is well 
prepared for his life-work, and is endowed 
with the fine qualities that help to make the 
successful physician. He is a member of the 
Essex County Homoeopathic Medical Society 
and of the Massachusetts Surgical and Gvn;c- 
cological Society in Boston. 

Dr. ]?atchclder is independent in |X)litics, 
favoring the election to office of the men best 
qualified to advance the interests of the people, 
irrespective of party. He is a member of 
Amity Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Danvers, 
Mass., and in religious belief he is a Unita- 
rian. Although he has been in Rockland but 
two years, he has made many friends in the 
town and vicinity, and is especially popular 
with the young people. 




|.\I'TA1\ JOHN H. FAUX, of 
Lakcville, Mass., a retired ship- 
master, was born in New Bedford, 
liristol County, this State, August 15, 1831. 
His parents were John and Sarah (Tripp) 
Paun. They lived for a number of years in 
New Bedford, but Mr. John Paun eventually 
purchased the farm in Lakeville on wiiich his 
son is now living, and spent his last days 
there. He was the father of ten children, 
namely: Sarah; William; Benjamin; John 
H., the subject of this sketch; Gilbert; Deb- 
orah; Charles; David; Amos; and Ellen. 



John H. Paun, the third son, grew to man- 
hood in tiic city of New Bedford, receiving 
there a high school education. When fifteen 
years of age he began to learn the cooper's 
trade, and when only seventeen was engaged 
as cooper on the whaling ship "Eagle," which 
sailed from New Bedford to the whaling 
grounds of the South Pacific, and was gone 
forty-nine months. Having become accus- 
tomed to the adventurous life of a whaler, he 
then shipped on the ship "Pantheon" as 
cooper and fourth mate, and cruised in the 
Okhotsk Sea, along the coast of California 
and South Pacific Ocean. When two and one- 
half years out the ship took fire and was com- 
pletely destroyed; but the crew fortunatelv 
escaped and landed (jn the island of Nukahiva, 
where they stayed three months, and were then 
taken off by an English brig and landed in 
San F'rancisco. 

Young Paun ne.xt shipped as first mate on 
the barc|ue "Massachusetts," which was out 
from New Bedford forty months, cruising in 
the Okhotsk and the South Seas ; and he was 
subsequently master of the barque "Ana- 
conda," which was under his charge some 
forty-five months, returning safely to New- 
Bedford with a good cargo. His next charge 
was the barque "Cicero," which was out 
forty-six months, visiting the whaling grounds 
of the Arctic Ocean, the Okhotsk Sea, and the 
South Pacific. After twenty years of constant 
voyaging, enduring the bitter cold of the Arc- 
tic regions, the fierce heat of the tropics, and 
exposure to the perils of the deep. Captain 
Paun retired to his present home, the farm in 
Lakeville purchased by his father. 

Captain Paun married Miss Sarah C. 
Coomlis, and has four children — S. Ida, 
John (i.. Isabella I-'., and Grace I. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. Intelligent and 
energetic, his mind broadened by travel and 



104 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wide experience in positions of responsibility, 
he is held in much respect by his townsmen, 
and for ten years he has served on the Board of 
Selectmen and Assessors, presiding during 
eight years of that time as Chairman of the 
Selectmen. 



rp)TENRY J. MILLER, manufacturer of 
r^n tacks and shoe nails, is proprietor 
l^ V ^ and manager of one of the impor- 
tant industrial enterprises of Bridgewater, 
Mass. He was born in Hanover, Germany, 
December 3, 1847, a son of David and Mary 
(Alden) Miller, both natives of Hanover. 

The lad was twelve years old when his 
father died, and he was early thrown on his 
own resources; but he received a good com- 
mon-school education in his native country, 
and this, with his natural intelligence and the 
knowledge gained by travel, combined to make 
him a remarkably capable man. He left Ger- 
many for England, and on June 21, 1868, he 
embarked from Liverpool in a sailing vessel for 
India, landing at Calcutta, November 10 of 
that year; and on January 8, 1869, he sailed 
from Calcutta for America, landing in Boston, 
May 13, 1869. He soon obtained employment 
as a farm hand in North Hanson, Mass., and 
in 1 87 1 he found work of the same kind in 
Bridgewater, which kept him busy about a 
year. He then entered a shoe factory in 
Brockton, Mass., and in 1872, returning to 
Bridgewater, was hired as engineer at the 
State Normal School. This position he held 
thirteen years. 

He started first in the manufacture of nails 
and shoe tacks in Brockton, and about a year 
later moved his business to Campello. There 
he remained about a year, and then removed to 
Bridgewater, adding steel shanks to his prod- 
ucts. Within si.\ or seven months he returned 
to Campello, and was there engaged in the 



manufacture of tacks and nails onl\-, until De- 
cember, 1889, when he returned to l^ridge- 
water. Since that time his Bridgewater plant 
has been in operation, with such good results 
that its success is assured. The main build- 
ing is a two-story structure on Hale Street, 
one hundred by thirty feet in dimensions. 
The plant is well-equipped with modern ma- 
chinery, and the output is considerable. The 
products are sold mainly in New York City. 

Mr. Miller was married in 1872 to Cather- 
ine Lynch, a native of Bridgewater, and has 
four children — Mary L., Arthur C, Harry T., 
and Chester F. Politically, he favors the Re- 
publican side. He is a Mason, belonging to 
Fellowship Lodge, of Bridgewater. Dili- 
gently and sagaciously applying himself to 
business, Mr. Miller has achieved success 
by his own efforts alone, and has won the 
respect of all with whom he has had dealings. 
He has one of the handsomest residences in 
Bridgewater, a monument tt) his energy and 
worthy ambition. 




DONIRAM VAUGHN, a trustee and a 
member of the Board of Investment of 
the Abington Savings Bank, be- 
longs to one of the old families of this section 
of the State which have produced the best part 
of the population. He was born in the town 
of Carver, December 4, 1820, a son of A Ivan 
and Sarah S. (Ripley) Vaughn. His lineage 
both on the maternal and the jjaternal side is 
easily traced for nearly two hundred years, 
and includes generations of hale and hearty 
New England people, who ha\e lived to ad- 
vanced age. 

Adoniram Vaughn was reared on a farm in 
Carver and acquired his education in the dis- 
trict school. At the age of sixteen he re- 
moved with his parents to Warren, Me., and 



'"^^ 




WALTER L. FRENCH. 



BIOGRAIMIICAL RRVIEW 



107 



tor ten years ile\oted his energies to farming 
and lumbering in the same place. Coming to 
Abington ho was engaged ffir fifteen years as 
superintendent of the shoe factory of J. 
X'aughn & Mersey. A conservatixc citizen of 
marked al)iiity and good judgment, he has the 
full confidence of his townsmen, and his opin- 
ion is always received with respect. Though 
for some time retired from acti\'e work, he 
still retains his connection with the Abington 
Savings Bank, and he is also a Director of the 
Mount Vernon Cemetery Association. In pol- 
itics he is a strong Kepublican. Api^ointed 
Postmaster of Abington some time in Presi- 
tlent Grant's last administration, he served to 
its close and during the early part of the term 
of President Hayes, then voluntarily resigning. 
Mr. \'aughn was married January i, 1855, 
to Hethiah Hrewster, of Hanson, daughter of 
l'hilii> and Rethiah Brewster, and has one 
child, A. Brewster Vaughn. In religious be- 
lief he is a Congregationalist. 



"wV) /alter L. 1"R1-:NC1I, of J^ockton, 
VsV^ Mass., is an enterprising business 
man who has achie\ed success in 
various branches of indnstr)- and trade. He 
was born in l^rockton (at that time North 
Jkidgewater), May 4, 1843, a son of iMancis 
M. and Nancy I- (Blake) P'rench. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, William P'rench, was born 
in North Pridgewater. A shoemaker by trade, 
he was in a small way a manufacturer of boots. 
He lived to be eighty-four years of age. 
William P"rench was one of the first in this 
part of the State to embrace the Swedenbor- 
gian faith, and he helped to found the New 
Jerusalem Church here. He married Ann, 
daughter of John Wales, of North Bridgewater, 
and had si.x children, three of whom are now- 
living. 



l-'rancis M. P'rench, who was the eldest of 
the family, was born in North Bridgewater, 
July 20, 1811. When he was twenty years 
old he engaged in the manufacture of shoes, 
his factor)- standing on the site of the store 
now owned by his son, Walter L. ; and with 
the e.\ce[Hion of two and a half years, when he 
was engaged as book-keeper for William P'. 
Brett, he was in the shoe business some forty 
years. He was afterward associated with his 
son in various enterjirises. In politics he has 
always been identified with Republican prin- 
ciples, voting originally with the Whigs. He 
cast his first Presidential ballot for Henry 
Clay. He was aid to the marshal who headed 
a deputation escorting the Hon. John Ouincy 
Adams from Randolph to North Bridgewater. 
where, on November 6, 1844, the venerable 
e.\-President delivered a lecture. Mr. P'rancis 
M. P'rench has officiated as Justice of the 
Peace for forty-two years, holding his commis- 
sion under si.x governors. Pie was at one time 
nominateil for the State legislature. A Mason 
in high standing, he is Past Master of Paul 
Revere Lodge, of Brockton ; belongs also to 
Satucket Chapter and Bay State Commandery, 
and has been offered several chairs, but mod- 
estly declined. His first wife, Nancy, daugh- 
ter of 1-Ilias Blake, of Wrentham. died in 1845, 
leaving two children : lulward Augustus, who 
died August 9, 1849; and Walter L. His 
secoiul wife was Mary Ann Maghie. 

Walter L. P^ench acquired his education in 
North Bridgewater, attending I.oomis Acad- 
emy and Plunt's Academy. He went to wDrk 
in the grocery store of William P'. Brett when 
he was twelve years (dd, and was employed 
there some two years, returning then to .^chool 
for a while. He was next employed in the 
shoe factory of P'rench & I'ackarcl (Mr. P'rench. 
the senior member of the firm being his 
father), and remained there until the breaking 



io8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(iLit of the war. In i86l he enlisted in Com- 
pany V, Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment, and 
was waiter for Captain Hichborn until the 
regiment was mustered into service at Foit 
Warren. On August 9, 1862, he enlisted in 
the navy and was assigned to the United 
States steamship "Hunchback" in the North 
Atlantic squadron. He received his discharge 
August 15, 1863. During his service he took 
part in a number of important engagements, 
including the siege at New Berne and the siege 
of Little Washington, both in North Carolina. 
After his second discharge he attempted to en- 
list again, but failed to pass the physical ex- 
amination. 

In 1864 he became a member of the firm of 
French & Packard, which was then changed to 
French, Packard & .Sons, the factory being the 
old one on the site of the present store. The 
partnership was dissolved a year later, and Mr. 
French was employed in Porter & Packard's 
shoe factory for six months; then, his father's 
partner d\'ing, he took his place, and the firm 
became V. M. and W. L. French. In 1870 
father and son started in the grocery business, 
and for some time were the leading grocers of 
the place. At the time of the great horse dis- 
temper in 1870 they delivered their goods with 
a team of oxen. The}' were very successful, 
and, though they went out of business in 1879, 
they started again in 1880, and were together 
until i8go, when the elder gentleman retired. 
Mr. Walter L. French has since managed the 
grocery business alone, antl is also engaged in 
brokerage and dealing in leather remnants. In 
the latter business he is a member of the firm 
of W. L. French & Co., organized in 1895, 
his partners being F. L. Price and N. C. 
Clark. Mr. French is likewise extensively 
engaged in farming, owning three hundred 
acres of land, and sells considerable wood. 

In 1864 he was married to Lucy Ames, 



daughter of Daniel Ames, of North Bridge- 
water. Mrs. F"rench, who is an intelligent 
and capable lady, assumes much of the man- 
agement of the farm. They have one child — 
Ellen Lucinda, born September 11, 1S68. 
Mr. French generally votes the Republican 
ticket. He belongs to Paul Revere Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M. ; to the Brockton Commercial 
Club; to P"letcher Webster Post, No. 13, 
Grand Army of the Republic; and is a char- 
ter member of Appomatox Command, No. 22, 
Union Veterans' Union. He is a member of 
the Porter Congregational Church. 



<^»^» 



/^TfcJRGE S. HASKINS, one of the 
\ f5 1 prominent citizens of Lakeville, 
Plymouth County, Mass., was born in 
this town, January 27, 1856, the son of Ce- 
phas and Betsey M. (Soule) Haskins. 

Cephas Haskins was a well-known and in- 
fluential resident of Lakeville, where he was 
in trade some forty-five years, and was station 
agent thirty-nine years. An independent in 
politics, he held the confidence and esteem 
of both parties, and was elected to several 
important offices of trust. He was the first 
Postmaster of the town, holding the office 
thirty-six years. He served as Selectman, 
Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for a num- 
ber of years, and was in the State legislature 
in 1872. In religious belief he was a Congre- 
gationalist. He lived to be seventy years of 
age, passing away January 19, 1896. Mr. 
Cephas Haskins's first wife died in 1857, leav- 
ing three children: Lydia K. ; Mary A., the 
present Postmistress at Lakeville; and George 
S., the subject of this sketch. His second 
wife, Mary E. Mason, had two children — Ar- 
lena and Anna M. 

George S. Haskins received a good educa- 
tion, attending the district school near his 



BIOGRAIMIKAI, REVIEW 



I Of) 



home, ricice Acadeni) at M icKlleboto, and 
Bridgewater Academy. When but a boy he 
began to assist his father in the store, and he 
grew up in the business, also aiding in distrii)- 
uting the mail; and aftei' attaining his niajni- 
itv he was apjiointed Assistant i'ustmaster, 
an oflice he held until iiis fatiicrs' death, giv- 
ing universal satisfaction by his courtesy and 
promptness in delivery. Mr. Haskins is 
widely known and is \-er\' jiopular among his 
townsmen. 

He was marrieti June 14, 1SS2, to Miss 
Lizzie E. Harlow. In politics he favors the 
Democratic side; and he, too, has been in 
office for a number of years. He has served 
as Selectman and Assessor for ton years, 
from 1886 to 1896, and for the i)ast three years 
has officiated as Overseer of the I'oor. Mr. 
Haskins is an Odd I'ellow, belonging to 
Middleboro Lodije. 



:OHX II. RYDblR, a well-known farmer 
and lumberman of Middleboro, Mass., 
son of Wilson C. and Katherine (Mil- 
lett) Ryder, was born on the paternal farm in 
this town, Novcndier ifi, 1848. His father 
also was a native of Middleboro. After ob- 
taining his early education in the common 
school, Wilson C. Ryder attended Waterville 
College and fitted himself for the gospel min- 
istry. The duties of this office he fulfilled 
until 1840, when he settled on the farm in 
Middleboro now occupied b}' his son, John H. 
The Rev. Wilson C. Ryder and Katherine 
Millett joined hearts and hands at the mar- 
riage altar, and, as the years passed by, four 
children were born to them; namely, Wilson 
C, Henry K. W., Nathaniel V., and John H., 
all of whom are residents of Plymouth County. 
John H. Ryder in his childhood and youth 
attended the common schools and Pierce Acad- 



emy, acquiring a good education. When he 
attained his majority he went to Hoston in 
search of Dame P'ortune, remaining two years. 
He then returned to the farm, where he has 
resided continuously ever since. He owns in 
all one hundred acres of land, and carries on 
general farming and lumbering. In politics 
Mr. Ryder is a Republican. In bis religious 
faith he is orthodo.x, being a member of the 
Rock Congregationalist Church. 

In 1872 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Eliza F. Gibbs. I'our children are the 
result of this union; namel\', Howard I".. Kate 
W. , Henry L., and Reuben II. Ryder. 



ISAAC PACKARD, late an extensive 
land-owner and farmer of Hrockton, 
Mass., who died on May 30, 1892, in 
the seventy-second year of his age, was born 
here at the old homestead on Forest Avenue, 
July 3, 1820. His parents were David and 
Susanna (Perkins) Packard. The father was 
a highly respected farmer, who owned most of 
the land in what was then North Bridgewater, 
now Brockton. He married Susanna Perkins 
of that town. By religious preference they 
attended the First Congregational Church. 

Isaac Packard, after acquiring a common- 
school education, worked on shoes for a num- 
ber of years. Later he became a stone mason, 
but be finally settled on a small farm. In 
politics he affiliated with the Republican 
party, and, being a man of jiublic spirit, he 
was actively alive to local interests. Mr. 
Packard's religious interest deepened as the 
years rolled on. He attended the South Con- 
gregational Church in Campcllo, where his 
faith was shown by his works in the gift of 
land on Warren Street for a chapel. 

He married in 1849 Sarah H. Bonney. 
daughter of Captain Ezekiel and Lydia H. 



I 10 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



l^iinney. Her father, who was Captain of a 
passenger vessel for a number of years, lived 
in Kingston between voyages until his death, 
which occurred at the age of forty-two. The 
maternal ancestors JDclonged to one of the old 
families in Kingston, where Mrs. Packard was 
born. Of the five children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Packard, four now survive; namely, 
Sarah ¥., George W., William H., and Julia 
A. Sarah F. Packard married Sylvanus Cook 
Packard, of Brockton ; George W. works in a 
shoe factory; William H. works for Moses 
Packard, and resides in North Easton ; and 
Julia A. became the wife of Edward C. Leach, 
of Boston, and resides in that citv. 




& 



MOM AS STOTT, an expert spinner, 
employed at the Plymouth Woollen 
Mills, was born in Lancashire, Eng- 
land, May 28, 1838. In his early youth he 
began work in the cotton mills, where he 
learned the spinner's trade, and in July, 1864, 
he emigrated to the United States, first set- 
tlins in Norwich, Conn., where he was for a 
time employed at the armory. P>om Norwich 
he went to Pockatannock, where he pursued 
his calling as a spinner in Hall Brothers' 
Woollen Mills for some four years; and, after 
working in the Bean Hill Mills, Conn., and 
at Lake Village, N.H., for a time, he was for 
three years employetl at the Belknap Mills in 
Laconia, N. H. He was subsequently em- 
ployed in the stocking-mills in Ipswich, 
Mass., and in the woollen-mills in Mystic, 
Conn., until 1S80, when he came to Plym- 
outh under engagement to the concern which 
started what is now known as the Plymouth 
Woollen Mills, and lie has since remained 
here. His long and successful experience as 
a spinner in both England and the United 
States places him in the foremost rank among 



the experts of his line in this locality; and, 
aside from the confidence with which he is re- 
garded by his employers, he is highly es- 
teemed by the community generally as a 
worthy and useful citizen. 

On December 13, 1869, in Laconia, N.H., 
Mr. Stott was married to Mary Madowall, who 
was born in Banbridge, Ulster County, Ire- 
land, and from her native country removed to 
luigland. In 1869 she emigrated to the 
United States, arriving on the 17th of June, 
and going direct to Laconia, N. H., where the 
marriage took place six months later, as above 
mentioned. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stott have 
had two children. The eldest, a girl, died 
October 10, 1877; and the youngest, a son, 
Thomas H., is now employed as a job printei'. 



/^TTlMAN OSGOOD, M.D., of Rock- 
V fST land, Mass., is among the best- 
qualified physicians and surgeons in 
the county. He was born in Abington, Mass., 
February 26, 1863, a son of (lilman and Isa- 
bella (Foster) O.sgood. 

Gilman Osgood, Sr. , was born in Durham, 
.Me. He was engaged in the manufacture of 
shoes in Rockland and Abington for a num- 
ber of years, and is now retired from business, 
living in Belmont, Mass. Mrs. Osgood, who 
was born on the Cape, is a daughter of I-'ree 
man Foster, now one of the oldest citizens of 
Abington, having passed his ninetieth birth- 
day. Four children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Giliiian 0.sgood, Sr. ; namely, Isabella, 
Marion, Gilman, and Charles. 

Gilman Osgood, Jr., was graduated from the 
Abington High School in 1880, and in 1886 
he was graduated from the Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College at New York, one of the fore- 
most schools in the world, and was then ap- 
pointed to the staff of the King's County (New 




BAALIS SANFORD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIF.W 



York) Hospital, serving one year. A year 
later he was made assistant physician on the 
Asylum Staff, devoting two years to this 
specialty; and he was subsequently for two 
years sujjerintendent of the King's County 
Hospital. During his connection with this 
institLition he acquired a |)ractical knowledge 
and experience rarely given to a young physi- 
cian. In iSgoDr. Osgood resigned his posi- 
tion and settled in Rockland as successor to 
Dr. J. C. Gleason (deceased), and from the 
beginning he has h.ul a large general i)ractice. 
He is a member of the King's County (X. Y. ) 
Medical Association and of the Massachusetts 
IMedical Society. 

On Jannar\- 14, 1X91, Dr. Osgood was 
united in marriage with Miss Mabel Russell, 
who was born in Ik'thel, Me., and reared by 
an uncle, George- L. Richardson, of Abington, 
Mass. Dr. and Mrs. Osgood have two chil- 
dren : Louise, born November 6, 1891 ; and 
(lilman, born April 11, 1S95. The Doctor is 
prominent as a member of society, and belongs 
to the Masonic fraternity and the Indejiendent 
Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Osgood is a 
member of the Congregational church. 



^AALIS SANFORD, one of the able 
''Zr\ business men of Brockton, is the 
'^■' eldest son of the Rev. Baal is and 
Abby (Burt) Sanford, born in F^ast Bridge- 
water, October 4, 1833. He is of Revolution- 
ary stock. His grandfather, Captain Josejih 
Sanford, was an officer in the Continental 
army. Captain Sanford, who was a mason by 
trade, while stationed at Fort Warren in Bos- 
ton Harbor, built within the precincts of the 
fort a chimney that still stands in testimony 
of the quality of the work he was accustomed 
to perform. Oi the Captain's children four 
sons became clergymen: anil one, i-'.noch, who 



preached in Raynham, Mass., many years, 
lived to be ninety-six years of age. The Rev. 
Baalis Sanford, a native of Berkley, Bristol 
County, born July, 1801, graduated from 
Brown University in 1827, and in 1.S31 took 
charge of the Congregational parish in ICast 
Bridgewater, where he labored for more than a 
quarter of a century. He was much respected 
and beloved, and he died in 1880, aged 
seventy-nine years. 

Baalis .Sanford acquired an excellent educa- 
tion at the common schools of his native town 
and Bridgewater, and at the East Bridgewater 
academies. When fourteen years of age he 
learned the shoemaker's trade, and worked at 
it when not in school for the ensuing three 
years. In April, 1851, he entered the dry- 
goods house of Robinson & Barry, of North 
Bridgewater (now Brockton), as book-keeper 
and cashier, taking the place of Melville Hay- 
ward. This gentleman had left to engage in 
the study of law, and afterward became dis- 
tinguished in his profession in New York 
City. Mr. Sanford was admitted F'ebruary i, 
1858, as a member of the firm of H. W. 
Robinson & Co., successors to Robinson & 
Barry, Messrs. Gorham B. Howard and Kl- 
bridge W. Morse becoming members of the 
company at the same time. These relations 
remained unchanged until 1869, when Messrs. 
Howard and Morse retired from the firm, and 
Mr. Joseph W. Robinson, son of H. W. 
Robinson, was admitted to partnership. Mr. 
.Sanford is now the senior partner of the firm, 
and attends to the book-keeping and financial 
affairs. Since his connection with the busi- 
ness began it has grown to an importance ex- 
celled by few houses in Eastern Massachu- 
setts. Mr. Sanford has many other business 
interests. He was book-keeper for the Brock- 
ton Gas Light Company for twenty years, and 
in I SS6-S8 was Treasurer of the corporation. 



114 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He was elected the first President of the Se- 
curity Co-operative Bank in 1878, and was re- 
elected in 1879, but declined to serve longer 
on account of business cares. He was elected 
President of the Brockton Savings Bank in 
April, 1892, and still holds that position. 
He is one of the Vice-Presidents and a Di- 
rector of the Brockton Agricultural Society; 
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ceme- 
tery Funds for the perpetual care of lots in 
Union Cemetery; Auditor of the Wales 
Home Corporation; and Treasurer and Di- 
rector of the Lugonia Fruit Growing and 
Packing Company of Redlands, Cal. He 
was one of the charter members of the Com- 
mercial Club; served as its Secretary for 
twelve years, and as Treasurer for five years ; 
and is at present a member of the Board of 
Management. 

Mr. Sanford was married in North Bridge- 
water, then Brockton, August 19, 1856, to 
Lucy Cotton, daughter of Captain Benjamin 
and Anne (Whitman) Hapgood. Of the three 
children born to him, Irene Gertrude is liv- 
ing. Anna Cora and Mable Louise died suc- 
cessively in i860 and 1869. Though not an 
active politician, Mr. Sanford is an ardent 
supporter of the Republican party, and has 
served with credit in public office. He was a 
member of the Brockton School Committee 
from 1875 to 1885 inclusive, acting as Secre- 
tary of the Board during the entire period. 
He was elected one of the Town Auditors in 
1879, and served three years in that capacity. 
In 1882, when the town became a city, he was 
elected City Auditor, and served fourteen 
years, resigning at the end of that time. He 
has been Justice of the Peace since 1881 ; and 
in 1879 he was a member of the lower branch 
of the State legislature, serving on the Com- 
mittee on Mercantile Affairs. He has been 
identified with the Masonic fraternity since 



1864, filling with dignity the highest ofificial 
positions. From 1867 to 1869 he was Worthy 
Master of Paul Revere Lodge; from 1869 to 
1872 he was High Priest of Satucket Royal 
Arch Chapter; from 1876 to 1878, Eminent 
Commander of Bay .State Commandery, 
Knights Templars; at present he is Thrice 
Illustrious Master of Brockton Council of 
Royal and Select Masters ; and he was Re- 
corder of Bay State Commandery for fifteen 
years. He is a permanent member of the 
Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter, Grand Council, 
and Grand Commandery of Massachusetts, and 
of the Grand Council of the American Legion 
of Honor; and he is a life member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Consistory, thirty-second degree. 
In religious matters he is affiliated with the 
Congregationalists, and was Treasurer of the 
Porter Society for seven years. 




,HARLES FRANKLIN DAVID, one 
of the alert and enterprising citizens 
of Abington, Mass., widely known 
as a news[)aper man from his former connec- 
tion with the Plymouth County Journal, and 
later as the founder of the C. F. David Adver- 
tising Agency, is now the proprietor of the 
popular medicines for stock and fowls known 
as "The Big Three." He was born in South 
Braintree, Mass., April 4, 1856, and is a son 
of Charles and Elizabeth (Stone) David, of 
that town. On the paternal side he is of 
French Huguenot descent, and the composer 
David was a kinsman of his father and grand- 
father. 

As a lad Charles F. David was a precocious 
scholar. He had completed the grammar- 
school course in South Braintree when only 
nine years old, and he entered the high school 
at an age when the majority of pupils are just 
going into the grammar. Leaving school 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



«'5 



when fourteen years old, he first went to work 
for Jordan, Marsh & Co., of Boston. He was 
fifteen years of age at this time, and when he 
had been in the employ of the great dry-goods 
firm only two months ho was given charge of 
one of the store-houses. After working for 
Jordan, Marsh & Co., about a year, he took a 
course in Comer's Commercial College, and 
then obtained employment as accountant in 
Moore's printing office. 

Here his ability was soon recognized, and, 
Mr. Moore being taken sick, Mr. David for a 
time carried on the business. Two years later 
he purchased the entire outfit, and removed to 
South Braintree; and after staying there si.x 
months, at the earnest solicitation of the Ab- 
ington people, he came to this town, and took 
charge of the Plymouth County Jo/tr/in/. The 
jiaper was then in a languishing condition, and 
iiad only a quarter of a column of advertise- 
ments, the lifeblood of the modern periodical. 
Mr. David went to work with characteristic 
energy, and within >i\ months the pajier dis- 
played over thirty columns of "ads." l-"or 
about twenty months he worked with such 
unceasing energy that lie undermined his 
health, and was advised by liis pliysician to 
give up the business. Accordingly, he sold 
the /o/triKt/ t-o Mr. F. W. Rollins. 

His ne.vt venture was in the advertising 
agency business, in which he was interested 
some ten years, founding a corporation styled 



Like most men who have hail a taste of the 
newspaper business, Mr. David still has lean- 
ings toward his old sphere of work, and has 
many friends among the printers. 

He was married May 8, 1S76, to Miss 
Lizzie A. Reynolds, of Abington, daughter of 
Griffin Clark and Sarah Maria Reynolds. Mr. 
Reynolds, her father, now deceased, was a 
prominent shoe manufacturer. Mr. and Mrs. 
David have no children. Mr. David is a 
member of Pilgrim Lodge, Independent Order 
of Odd t'ellovvs, of Abington. 




the C. V. David Advertising Agency. 



In 



1895 he purchased Dole's Horse and Cattle 
Invigorator, and he has since added David's 
Hen and Chicken Invigorator and David's 
Cure for Hog Cholera and Swine Distemper. 
The combination is known as "The Big 
Three"; and these specifics, it is said, actually 
do more than is claimed for them, being the 
acknowledged leaders in their line. They 
are in constant demand among stock breeders. 



DREW JACKSON GARDNER, Ta.x 
Collector of Hingham, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born here on 
January 11, 181 5, son of Jesse and Delight 
(Lincoln) Gardner. His paternal grandfather, 
Samuel Gardner, was also a native of Hing- 
ham, where he engaged in farming, both he 
and his wife living to a good old age. He 
was a hard-working man, who stood well among 
his townspeople. In politics he affiliated with 
the Whigs, and in his religious belief he was 
a L'nitarian. He had ten children. 

lesse Gardner, .son of Samuel, was born in 
this town, December 15. 1 7S0. In early man- 
hood he learned the carpenter's trade, and thai 
was his life occupation. In |)olitics he was a 
Democrat, and served as a member of the 
School Committee several years. He married 
Delight Lincoln, daughter of Laban and Eliz- 
abeth Lincoln, of Hingham. She was born 
September 24, 1793, and died at the age of 
(ifty-three years, August 17, 1846. Jesse 
Gardner survived his wife several years, and 
died October 30, 1851, aged seventy-one 
years. They were both highly respected 
members of the Unitarian church. Only 
three of the seven chiklreii born to them are 
now living — Andrew Jackson, Laban. and 



ii6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Elizabeth Ann. Laban married Catherine 
Burrell, of Hinghani, and they had six chil- 
dren, five of whom are now living — Laban F., 
Catherine B., Arthur, Walter, and Martin B. 
Elizabeth Ann was united in marriage with 
Edwin D. Gardner, of this town, and had five 
children, three of whom are living — Edwin 
A., Sarah, and Lizzie. 

Andrew J. Gardner, after attaining a public- 
school education in his native town, learned 
the shoemaker's trade, which he followed in 
this town for twenty-five years. In 1850, 
when the town offices were put up at auction, 
he purchased the office of Tax Collector, to 
which he was elected by the people in 1852. 
He is the present incumbent, having served 
for forty-four consecutive years. In days gone 
by he was on the police force, and subse- 
quently served in the offices of Constable and 
Highway Surveyor. In politics he affiliates 
with the Republican party. 

Mr. Gardner married first Mary Ann, daugh- 
ter of Stephen and Peggy Remington Stod- 
dard. She was a native of this town, and was 
born March 3, 1822, and she died April 17, 
1847, at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. 
Gardner married second, F"ebruary 13, 1848, 
Rebecca Ann Ewell, of Marshfield, Mass. She 
died March 27, i8g2, at the age of sixty- 
nine years and five months. Mr. Gardner's 
children by his wife, Mary, were: Lucy Stod- 
dard, born December 1 2, 1 842, who married 
October i, 1884, Frazer F. Blauvelt; Andrew 
Wallace, born December i, 1844; and Albert 
Stoddard, born March 11, 1847. His children 
by his wife, Rebecca, were: John Hersey, 
born February 11, 1850, who died April 30, 
1891; and Mary Ann, born May 26, 1851, 



died August 19, 185; 



Andrew Wallace 



Hingham, August 19, 1843. They have a 
child, Mary Ann, born January 19, 1871. 

Albert Stoddard Gardner, the second son, 
married January 5, 1868, Mary Ellen Fearing, 
daughter of Henry and Mary (Gushing) Fear- 
ing. She was born in Hingham, February 13, 
1844, and died February 20, 1871, aged 
twenty-seven years. Albert S. Gardner died 
March 29, 1873, aged twenty-six years. He 
had one child, Henry Fearing, born in Hing- 
ham, April 29, 1869. Both wives attended 
the Universalist church, in which Mr. Gardner 
has been prominently active. For thirty-six 
years he has been Collector of the Universalist 
Society. Personally, he is a man of the high- 
est integrity, who has ably filled most impor- 
tant offices of trust. 



Gardner, his eldest son, married May 24, 
1868, Mary Jane Price, daughter of James and 
Rebecca (Souther) Price. She was born in 



4 ^^^> 




TIS COBB, a successful carpenter and 
contractor of Brockton, was born 
March 17, 1827, in Carver, this 
county, son of Otis and Mercy B. (Morse) 
Cobb. He is descended from immigrants who 
came with the early settlers of the Plymouth 
Colony. Benjamin Cobb, his grandfather, 
born in Carver, P'ebruary 13, 1750, was a 
farmer, and served in the militia. He died 
on March 3, 181 2. Sarah, his wife, born 
April I, 1754, died October 20, 1820. Their 
son Otis, born November 20, 1795, vvas a 
farmer, who also manufactured nails by hand. 
He was a member of the Congregational 
church, and sang in the choir. His wife, 
Mercy, had two children besides Otis. Of 
these, Benjamin died at the age of two years. 
The other was a daughter, who is now the wife 
of Henry B. Whitman, and resides in Brain- 
tree, Mass. The father, who was a resident 
of Carver all his life, died April 4, 1840. 
The mother lived until December 31, 1841. 
At the age of sixteen, after acquiring a 



hio(;r.\1'1iu:al review 



H7 



common-school education, <)lis Cobb came to 
North Hridgcwatcr, now Brockton, and worked 
witli \'inal Lyon at the carpenter's trade for 
several years, and then went into business for 
four years. He sui)sec|uently worked as a 
j()urne\nian for iiimself. In 1864 he enlisted 
in one of the unattached ct)mpanies of the old 
iSoston l'"usileers, which afterward formed a 
])art of the Fourth Massachusetts Artillery 
and was stationed at Fort Richardson for eight 
months. They had previously landed at F"ort 
.•\lhan\', where thev stayed a month, taking- 
charge of forts extending all the way to 
Alexandria. lie was put to carpenter's work 
for a while, after which he became regimen- 
tal carpenter, having the supervision of fifty 
men. Returning home in 1865, he soon re- 
sumed business, which he managed success- 
full)- until 1895. lie has built forty-four 
factories, mostly plants, for the manufacture 
of shoes, and more than one hundred houses, 
besides four school-houses for Brockton, and 
some public buildings for ntlu-r towns. In 
politics Mr. Cobb is a Republican, and he has 
been Surveyor of Lumber for twelve years. 

On May 7, 1848, Mr. Cobb was united in 
marriage with Lydia L. I'ackanl, daughter of 
Lebba-us Packard, of West Bridgjwater. They 
have three children — Jane, Sarah, and Nor- 
n-ian. Jane married S. .S. B. French, and re- 
sides in Braintree; Sarah, who married Frank 
1*. Brown, is at home; and Norman, who mar- 
ried Fanny Hayden, is in Haverhill, Mass. 
Mrs. Cobb's father, Lebbieus, was Selectman 
in West Bridgewater for sixteen consecutive 
years. During the War of 1812 he served as 
fifer on the march from West Bridgewater to 
I'lymouth. He was a member of the Metho- 
dist l'4iiscopal church, and he died at the age 
of si.\ty-four. Mr. Cobb is a member of I'aul 
Revere Lodge, Brockton, A. I-". & A. M.; 
a charter member of St. George Lodge, of 



Campello; a member of Satucket Royal Arch 
Chai)ter; of Brockton Council, Royal and Se- 
lect Masters; of Bay State Commandery, 
Knights Templars; and of Aleppo Temple, 
being a Mason of the thirty-second degree. 
He also belongs to the (Jrder of Rose Croi.x, 
and has been Tyler of St. George's Lodge to 
Ma.ssa.soit. Lodge, No. 69, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows; to I-'letcher Webster Post, 
Grand Army of the Republic, No. 13; to the 
Legion of Honor, of which he was Commander 
for two years, having occupied all the other 
chairs. In religious circles he is also prom- 
inent, having been a member of the South Con- 
gregational Church at Campello for forty-two 
years. He has served on various committees, 
was a member of the Parish Committee for 
three years, usher for nearly twelve years, and 
sang in the choir about ten years. He recently 
severed his connection with the Congregational 
church, and became a member of the South 
Street Methodist Flpi.scopal Church of Brockton. 




COLEMAN BROWN, M.D., city 
physician of Brockton, was born in 
East Boston, June 4, 1869, son of 
Lieutenant Edwin Young and Frances (Saw- 
yer) Brown, residents of F^ast l^oston. The 
Doctor is a descendant of Peter Brown, one of 
the Colonial settlers of New England. His 
grandfather's grandfather served on General 
Washington's staff, and his great-grandfather 
was in the War of 1S12. His grandfather, 
Charles Brown, died in Scituate about twenty 
years ago, aged about seventy years; and his 
grandmother was ninety-two when she passed 
away in 1893. This couple hail a family of 
fourteen children, five of whom are living: 
one, Charles, who has serveil in the State 
legislature, and is a comrade of the Grand 
Army, resiiles on the family homestead in 



I iS 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Scituate; James, killed in action; Wilbur and 
Edwin Younn' also served in the late war. 
Moses, another of the sons, owns and lives 
upon the noted "Bulrush Farm" at North 
Scituate, the largest farm in Plymouth County. 

At the first call to arms, Edwin Young 
Brown enlisted as a private in Company B, 
I'^irst Massachusetts \^olunteer Regiment, and 
served throughout the war, winning promo- 
tion to the rank of Lieutenant for meritorious 
conduct on the field. His regiment was at- 
tached to General Joseph Hooker's brigade, 
and shared in several of the engagements of 
that command. In the second battle of Bull 
Run he was shot in the head, and, having been 
left for dead on the field, was taken prisoner 
and confined in Libby I'rison for a year. He 
and a number of other prisoners were then 
packed in freight cars, and sent to Anderson- 
ville. On the way Mr. Brown, with two coni- 
jianions, cut the lock, and jump.ed from the 
moving car into the darkness of the night. 
After wandering about for three months, en- 
during many privations, they reached the 
Union lines. Lieutenant Brown was dis- 
charged in 1S65, at the close of the war. He 
is highly esteemed in East Boston, and has 
been State Inspector of Factories and Public 
liuildings for some time. He is the father of 
three children, who are all living. 

After acquiring his preliminary education 
in the public schools of East Boston, E. Cole- 
man Brown graduated from the Boston Latin 
School. He received his medical training at 
the IJoston College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, his degree being conferred upon him 
in 1894. He then became attending physi- 
cian at the Deer Island Hospital. In Sep- 
tember of that year he located in Brockton, 
where he has remained since. In the short 
time that has elapsed since he has won the 
confidence and regard of a large number of 



citizens. Dr. Brown was elected City Physi- 
cian in 1S96, succeeding Dr. Roland M. 
Hammond. In politics he is a Republican. 
He was married September 25, 1889, to a 
daughter of Captain Joseph E. Kimball, his 
father's comrade all through the war. Cap- 
tain Kimball also rose from the ranks. Of 
the three children born to Dr. and Mrs. 
Brown, one is living. The Doctor has held 
nearly all the chairs in the East Boston Ma- 
sonic lodges, and is second officer at present 
in the Chapter and Council. He now belongs 
to the Masonic bodies of Brockton, and to 
Aleppo Temple of the Mystic Siirine of Bos- 
ton. He is a member of Zenith Lodge, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of East Bos- 
ton; Medical E.xaminer for Montello Lodge, 
Knights of Pythias; a Director of the Union 
Pythian Relief Association; a member of ]5ay 
State Commandery, Knights Templars, of 
Brockton, and of R. B. Grover Camp, Sons of 
Veterans. He attends the Universal ist church 
in this city; and he resides at 32 L'^pland 
Road, in the northern part of the city, called 
Montello, where he lately purchased a resi- 
dence. 



01 ON. CHARLES H. HOWLAND, 
'[^\ of Plymouth, has represented the 
old Colonial town in the State 
Senate and House of Representatives, and has 
served it as Land and Harbor Commissioner 
for a number of years. He was born in Plym- 
outh, September 15, 1826, son of John and 
Nancy (Lucas) Howland, who were both born 
in this vicinity. The family comes of old 
Puritan stock. It began with three brothers, 
John, Charles, and Henry, who came origi- 
nally from England. John made the voyage 
in the "Mayflower," and Charles and Henry 
in the ship "Ann" which followed. The 
family has been content to remain in the home 



BIOC.RAI'IIICAL KKAIKW 



119 



(.■stal)li shell l)y their forefathers, and ijeiicra- 
tion after general i(in tif it lias lived and died 
in riymouth. John I lowland, the father of 
Charles II.. was a seafaring man. While 
serving in tlie War of 1812 he was taken 
prisoner, cariMed to Mngland, and for some 
lime was confined in Dartmoor Prison, from 
which he eventually escajjed. lie died in 
1841 at the age of fifty-four. His wife, who 
was a daughter of Lazarus Lucas, of West 
Plymouth, died in I'lymouth in iSqo, at the 
ad\'anced age of ninety-two. They reared 
four children, of whom the suhject of this 
sketch was the third child born. 

Charles H. Howlanil was educated in the 
common schools of I'lymouth. His [larents 
being poor, he was obliged, at the age of 
nine, to take employment of George Hramhall, 
a grocer, of Plymouth. He was afterward 
employed in the Harvard L'niversity book- 
store in Cambridge, Mass. Here his health 
became impaired. To restore it. he joined a 
fishing expceliticm. undei- the condition that he 
would be paid just what he was found to be 
worth. He ]iroved so useful on that occasion 
that, at the end of the tri]). he had as much 
money as the other boys, some of whom were 
accustomed to the work. l*"or some years 
after he followed the sea. and in due time be- 
came captain of a schooner and |)art owner of 
a vessel. l'"inally he gave up seafaring, and 
at the age of twenty, learned the painter's 
trade from Calvin Howland, of Stoughton, 
M.iss. He remained with I\Ir. Howland some 
three years, and for some time subsec[nent 
was em])loyed as a clerk in ilifferent places. 
Then, starting in business for himself, he 
managed a general store in Chiltonville, 
Plymouth, for a number of years. This store 
he left when the Rebellion broke out, in 
order to enlist. When Presiilent Lincoln's 
hrst call for seventy-five thousand men reached 



Plymouth, he was the second Tnan to write 
his name on the list of volunteers, and he 
was subsequently ap])ointed one of the mili- 
tary storekeepers of Massachusetts, under 
(Juartermaster General John H. Reed, in 
which capacity he served until 1862. Com- 
missioned l'"irst Lieutenant in the Thirty- 
fourth Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteer 
Infantry, June 9, 1862, he was appointed 
Uuartermaster of the regiment, and served as 
Regimental and Acting Assistant Brigade 
<juartermaster until July, 18^)5, when he was 
mustered out of the service at Richmond, V'a. 
Returning to Plymouth, he remained for a 
while. Subsequently be was in the clothing 
business in Boston for two or three years. 
His next venture was in the oil regions of 
Canada, where he dug one or two wells; but, 
being unsuccessful, he returned home. 

Mr. Howland cast his first Presidential vote 
for the h'ree Soil candidate in 1848, and he 
has long been prominent as a Republican, and 
has lilled a number of public offices. In 1870 
he took the census of Plymouth and Carver, 
and in 1880 he, in company with Thomas 
Loring and another gentleman, took the 
census of Plymouth. In the State Senate in 
i860 he was House Chairman of the Commit- 
tee on l'"isheries, and one of the Committee 
on the X'aluation of the Commonwealth, which 
sat during recess; and in the House of Rep- 
resentatives in 1879, 1880, 1883, and 1884, 
he presided as Chairman of the Committee on 
Labor. I*"isheries, and Prisons, and of a s|)ecial 
committee appointed in iSSj to sit during the 
recess, which was to make certain inquiries 
relative to the charitable and penal institu- 
tions of the State. Again elected to the 
Senate, he was in 1885 Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Taxation and was a member of 
Committees on Public Charitable Institutions 
and Woman Suffrage. Mr. Howland was ap- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



pointed Land and KLarbor Commissioner by 
Governor Robinson in 1886, to fill out Joseph 
K. Baker's unexpired term of three years. 
He was reappointed by Governor Ames in 
1887, and received three subsequent reappoint- 
ments, one by Governor Brackett in 1 890, one 
by Governor William E. Russell in 1893, and 
one by Roger Wolcott in 1896. Governor 
Russell having been a Democrat, it is evident 
that Mr. Howland's efficiency in office is the 
cause of his many reappointments. 

Mr. Howland has been twice married. His 
present wife, to whom he was united in No- 
vember, 1869, is the daughter of John and 
Deborah Finney, of Plymouth, and also 
belongs to an old I'uritan family. Mr. and 
Mrs. Howland have six children ^ Henry B., 
a graduate of the Plymouth High School and 
Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, who 
has been for some time in the employ of Jo- 
seph Huse & Son, dealers in stoves and fur- 
naces, Boston, Mass.: Lucy W., a graduate 
of the Plymouth High School; Deborah, a 
graduate of the Plymouth High School and of 
the Bridgewater Normal School, where she 
took the four years' course, and is now a 
teacher in the public schools of her native 
town; George B., a high-school graduate, who 
is now attending Bryant & Stratton's Com- 
mercial College at Boston; and Charles B. 
and Rose \\'., who are in the lower schools. 



jZEKIEL R. .STUDLEY may be called 
the father of Rockland, for at the time 
when the town was organized he was 
the leading spirit in the movement, and, 
elected Town Clerk and Treasurer and First 
Chairman of the Selectmen, he did an im- 
mense amount of clerical and other work; and 
after the new town was fairly established he 
still continued to guide its affairs in the direc- 



tion of prosperity. Mr. Studley was born in 
Hanover, Mass., November 30, 1831. 

His parents, David and Hannah (Torrey) 
Studley, were of FInglish descent. David 
Studlc)', who also was born in Hanover, Mass., 
was a clockmaker, and followed his trade until 
1835, when he turned his attention to the pur- 
suit of agriculture. ffe attained the great age 
of ninety years and six months, his wife hav- 
ing died at the age of fifty-eight. This couple 
were the parents of twelve children, ten of 
whom lived to be over fifty years of age. The 
onl}' survivors to-day are Walter B., a jeweller 
in Rocklantl: and F'^zekiel R., the special sub- 
ject of this biographical sketch. 

Ezekiel R. .Studley acquired his education 
in the common schools of Hanover and the 
seminary at F^asthampton ; and after finishing 
his studies he taught school for two winters, 
working at farming in the summer. He began 
to make shoes in his fifteenth year, and later 
he was employed as a cutter in a factory some 
twenty .years. In 1857 he located in Abing- 
ton, where he was engaged in shoe cutting and 
shoe manufacturing until 1874, when his re- 
sponsibility in connection with town affairs 
was so great that he was obliged to devote all 
his time to tlieir management. 

He joined the Republican party when he 
was qualified to vote, and cast his first Presi- 
dential ballot for John C. Fremont; but his 
character and conduct have been such that, 
from the very beginning, he has had the fullest 
confidence of both parties. He was elected to 
the legislature in 1864, and again in 1877 and 
1878, serving in the latter year as Chairman 
of the Committee on Towns. In 1871 he was 
elected to the Abington Board of Selectmen, 
and served until 1874; and he was one year 
on the School Board. When Rockland was 
separated from Abington he was invested with 
authority to manage the work of organizing 




WILLIAM H. BATES. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'23 



tlic new town, and, with the entire confitlcnce 
of the people, lie .i;;ue heart and hand to its 
accomplishment, collecting and wisely oxpcnd- 
iiij;- the funds, and discharging efficiently the 
duties of his triple office of Clerk, Treasurer, 
anil Chairman of the Selectmen, Assessors, 
and Overseers of the Poor. 

I'^or twenty years he served ably antl consci- 
entiously as both Treasurer and Clerk, and no 
smallest item was neglected. In 1894 he 
resigned the office of Treasurer, but is still 
acting as Town Cleik. In 1890 he was a 
member of the Rockland School Committee. 
Mr. Studlcy was made a Justice of the Peace 
twenty years ago, anil is still exercising the 
functions of his office. In addition to his 
official duties he has had charge of the Rock- 
land Savings Bank for twenty years, having 
been appointed Treasurer in 1876 to succeed 
his brother, Walter R. Studley. lie is one of 
the best-known figures in Rockland, and is 
held in tlie highest regard by his townsmen. 
Mr. Studley is an active member of the Rock- 
land Commercial Club. 

In 1855 he was united in marriage with R. 
Augusta Studley, and his married life of 
thirty-five years was an unusually happy one, 
a bond of the strongest sympathy existing be- 
tween himself and his wife. Mrs. Studley 
died in I 890, lca\ing three sons: OrvilL' !•". ; 
Ilcrmon 1,., cashier of the savings hank: and 
Harold \-. 




/^: 



.l.l.\M 11. BATKS is President 
and Manager of the Rockland Com- 
jiany, a large shoe and leather cor- 
poration. He was born in Rockland (then 
Ivast Abington), May 8, 1837, a son of George 
and Lucy \V. (Warren) Bates. George Bates 
])asse(I his life in Abington antl the adjoining 
town of Hanover. He died in 1859, in the 
fiftv-second vear of his age; his wife, also a 



native of Plymouth County, lived to be sev- 
enty-eight years old. They were the parents 
of three children, two of whom, William H. 
and (ieorge W. , are living, both citizens of 
Rockland. 

William H. Bates was one year old when 
his ]3arents removed to Hanover, and he was 
there reareil and educated, qualifying as a 
book-keeper. In 1862 he enlisted in the 
Thirty-eighth Regiment, Mas.sachu.setts \'ol- 
unteer Infantry, and was assigned to the non- 
commissioned staff of General William H. 
J'jnory. His proficiency in clerical work 
made his services of value in that line, and 
for a year he was thus employed in the L)e|)art- 
ment of the Gulf. After his return to Hano- 
ver he was engaged as book-keeper in the shoe 
manufactory of George B. Clapj) some ten or 
twelve years, obtaining a practical knowledge 
of the shoe business, which has since been of 
much use to him. 

He then took an interest in the firm of 
W. ]■;. Putnam & Co. ; and from this association 
he formeil the Rockland Conii)any — W. K. 
Putnam and H. S. Jenkins, former members 
of the house, retiring from active business, but 
taking stock in the new concern. The new 
company erected a factory which is a model of 
completeness and convenience — an attractive 
building without and within — and moved into 
their new cpiarters January i, 1896. Their 
business, which includes not only the output 
from this factory, but also work done in other 
places, amounts to over half a million a year. 
The enterprise, as conducted under the name 
of W. ¥.. Putnam & Co., had been established 
about eleven years when Mr. Bates took charge 
of it. The present board of management con- 
sists of William H. Bates, President and Man- 
ager; Henry M. Currier, Vice-President; 
William P. Paylor, Treasurer; and William 
E. Putnam and II. S. Jenkins, stockholders. 



124 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Bates was united in marriage with Julia 
A. Turner, of Hanover, Mass., on May 8, 
i860, and five children have blessed their 
union: Nettie W. , wife of George T. Smith, 
of HanoN^er, and mother of two children — 
Ethel and Julia; Annie E., wife of Eletcher 
Jenkins, manager of an express business in 
Rockland, who has two children — Nettie B. 
and Helen; George A., superintendent of the 
Rockland Company's factory; Samuel T. ; and 
Marion V., now thirteen years old. 

Mr. Bates's ancestors for generations were 
strong Democrats, and his grandfather rejoiced 
in the election to the Presidency of James 
Buchanan ; but he has departed from the family 
traditions, and is firm in his support of the 
Republican side. He cast his first Presiden- 
tial vote for Abraham Lincoln. Prominent so- 
cially as well as in a business way, he is a 
Mason, a Knight of Pythias, a Knight of 
Honor, and a Grand Army man ; and he is 
President of the Rockland Commercial Club. 
He has a pleasant home in Rockland and a 
cottage at the beach ; and his happiest hours 
are spent with his family, to whom he is 
deeply attached. 



-f^TON. JOHN JAY VVHH'PLP:, the 
f^i first of Brockton's mayors who have 
•i® V _ sat in the City Hall, was born in 
Worcester, Mass., December 31, 1847, son of 
I^"erdinand and Hannah (Sweet) Whipple. 
His ancestors on the paternal side settled in 
Rhode Island, and in that State his father was 
born, and was engaged in business for a num- 
ber of years. His motlier was a native of New 
Hampshire. She reared two daughters and 
three sons, John Jay being the youngest of the 
family. 

John Jay Whipple received his preliminary 
schooling in the common schools of Hopkin- 



ton, Mass., and subsequently graduated from 
Hopkinton Academy. He commenced his 
business life in the general store of e.\-Gover- 
nor William Claflin at Hopkinton, where he 
was employed as clerk for a year. Afterward 
he was engaged as clerk in the drug store of 
Dr. W. D. Burdett. In December, 1866, he 
purchased a drug store in Brockton, and in 
partnership with his father, under the firm 
name of J. J. Whipple & Co., conducted 
it for a quarter of a century. In 1891 he 
sold the drug store, to which for some years 
he had given merely a general supervision. 
In the spring of 1892 he was elected Presi- 
dent of the Wildey Savings Bank at 52 Boyl- 
ston Street, Boston. He was subsequently 
President of the Brockton .Savings Bank 
for twelve years, was one of the incorpo- 
rators of the Brockton National Bank, and has 
been one of its Directors since its incorpora- 
tion. He is President of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows Accident Insurance 
Company of Boston, has been President of the 
New lingland Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany of the same city for the past four years, 
and was one of the incorporators of the Brock- 
ton, Bridgewater & Taunton Electric Street 
Railroad. His real estate, which is consider- 
able, is located principally in Brockton, and 
includes a quarter interest in the Brockton 
City Theatre that cost one hundred and sixty 
thousand dollars. 

Mr. Whipple has long been identified witli 
the Republican party, and has filled almost 
every office within the gift of the city. He 
was Selectman and Roail .Surveyor under the 
old town government, and was one of the orig- 
inal signers of the petition for a city charter 
in 1 88 1. He served on the School Board for 
eleven years. Elected Mayor of the city in 
1886 he served through 1887, and re-elected 
in 1894 he served through 1895. During his 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



127 



administration the grade crossing, with which 
the city had been afflicted, was abolished. lie 
has been associated with many of tiie enter- 
prises marking Brockton's progress, including 
the introduction of pipe water and sewerage. 
Mis political honors have not been limited by 
local boundaries. l"or three years he served 
as personal aid on Governor Robinson's staff; 
and he was two years Secretary of the Repub- 
lican State Central Committee under H. C. 
Lodge and A. \V. Heard. In 1885 he was in 
the State legislature, where he presided as 
House Chairman on Water Supply, was clerk 
of the Committee on Insurance, and reported 
on fifty-four bills, the largest number ever put 
through at one session. He was appointed by 
Governor Ames one of the State Commis- 
sioners of riiarmacy for five years, and subse- 
quently declined a reappointment tendered him 
by Governor Russell. 

Mr. Whipple was married in June, 1867, to 
a daughter of Franklin Otis Howard, of Brock- 
ton. Her great-grandfather, Barnarbas How- 
ard, fought in the Revolutionary War. He 
kept the first hotel in North Bridgewater, as 
the town was then called, and was well known 
in the vicinity. Franklin Otis Howard was a 
boot and shoe manufacturer of some promi- 
nence in Brockton, and at one time owned 
what was alleged to be the handsomest resi- 
dence in the city. His other daughter is the 
wife of Dr. George E. I'reeman, of Brockton. 
Mr. and Mrs. Whipple have three children — 
Mary Helen, Edith Bell, and Howard Frank- 
lin. Mr. Whipple is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd I""ellows. He was rep- 
resentative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge at 
Toronto, Canada, in 1879, the only time the 
order ever held a session outside of the United 
States. As a Knight of Pythias he holds the 
highest office in the State, that of Past Grand 
Chancellor and Supreme Representative. 



Under his charge, in the twenty-fifth year of 
the lodge's history, the increase of member- 
ship was greater, and more lodges were insti- 
tuted, than in any previous year. Mr. Whipple 
was one of the founders of the New England 
Order of Protection, and he was two years at 
the head of the Grand Lodge of the State, and 
three years at the head of the Supreme Lodge. 
During these five years the memiiership was 
increased l)y ten thousand. In the mean time 
he established a lodge in Brockton, of which 
three hundred and fifty of the leading citizens 
are now members. Interested also in relig- 
ious work, he attends the Unity Church (Uni- 
tarian) of Brockton, and was, for a number of 
years, until obliged to resign by the pressure 
of business. Chairman of the Standing Com- 
mittee, and a member of the Building Com- 
mittee. 




ILLIAM RAPP, manufacturer, of 
Brockton, was born in 1833 in 
Cheadle, Staffordshire, England. 
His grandfather, also named William, was a 
political agitator of either France or (ier- 
many. Obliged to flee his country, the 
grandfather went to England, where he was 
a coal merchant, and owned several vessels, 
which he kept plying in his business to dif- 
ferent ports. He died at the age of ninety 
years. His wife was an Englishwoman, 
whose children by him were: Matthew, 
David, William, and Amelia, all now de- 
ceased. Matthew Rapp, who was a shoe man- 
ufacturer of Cheadle, P^ngland, died while yet 
a young man. His wife, who was a native 
of Staffordshire, after surviving him a long 
time, died in 1894, at the age of eighty-four 
years. 

Matthew's second son was William Rapp, 
the subject of this sketch. In his youth 
William learned the traile of weaver. Being 



128 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



industrious, capable, and trustworthy, he, in 
course of time, was put in charge of a room. 
In 1862 he commenced manufacturing hub 
gorings in Leicester, Leicestershire. He 
was the first man in England to do that work 
in the power loom. On May r2, 1866, he 
was presented with a fine gold watch by his 
employees, some of whom are yet in his 
employ. He carried on manufacturing in 
Leicester until 1881, shortly after which he 
came to America. Within four days after 
landing he was offered the foremanship of 
T. Martins Brothers" Goring Factory at Chel- 
sea, Mass. Accepting this, he remained 
with them about eighteen months, and then 
resigned his position, although he was offered 
a partnership to induce him to stay. His 
purpose in leaving this employment was to 
form the partnership for the establishment of 
a hub goring manufactory at Brockton, after- 
ward known as the firm of Herbert, Rapp & 
Co. After buying their machinery in Eng- 
land, they planned and built their factory in 
May, 1883. Of the situation of the factory, 
experts said that it was the best for its pur- 
pose in the State. The company purchased 
in 1 891 the Martins Brothers' factory at Chel- 
sea, one at Camden, N.J., and one at Rock- 
land, Mass., all of which they have conducted 
up to the present time. 

In 1895 Mr. Rapp l^ecame interested in the 
Glendale Elastic Fabric Company at East- 
hampton, Mass., of which lie is now a Di- 
rector. Such was his energy and aloility in 
management that, when he had been superin- 
tendent there only nine months, the first divi- 
dend in thirty years was declared. He is now 
President of the Pawtucket (R.I.) Bleach & 
Dye Company, of the Monarch Rubber Com- 
pany at Campello, of the City Ice Company 
at Brockton, and of the New Englanil Shoe 
& Leather Company, whose office is on Lin- 



coln Street, Boston. In. accordance with the 
system that he enforces, each factory furnishes 
an inventory every Saturday evening. Sit- 
ting at his desk, he writes his instructions to 
the heads of the various departments in his 
several factories; yet all the detail work is 
under his immediate supervision. He came 
here with a thorough knowledge of Jiis busi- 
ness, and superseded a good many older gor- 
ing men. 

Mr. Rapp married Martha Walker, of Der- 
byshire, FLngland, and has had si.\ children, 
of whom one son, Walter, is now living. 
Walter resides in Brockton, but is a business 
man of Boston. The eldest daughter married 
Robert Cook, the partner of B. E. Jones, and 
died in 1890, leaving three children. Mr. 
Rapp is a member of the Porter Congrega- 
tional Church of Brockton. He is one of the 
Trustees of the Brockton Hospital and a mem- 
ber of the Committee of the Wales Home for 
Old Ladies at Brockton. He is a strong ad- 
vocate of the temperance movement. He has 
served in both the City Council and the Board 
of Alderman. He was elected to the latter 
body by an overwhelming majorit\-. From 
time to time he has received gratifying tokens 
of the esteem and good will of his associates 
and subordinates. When leaving England, 
his fellow-townsmen united in presenting him 
with a written testimonial, signed by tiie 
mayor and other prominent men of Leicester, 
of their deep affection and regret at his deter- 
minatidu to go, accompanied by a gilt of one 
hundred pounds. Another testimonial, vcvy 
elegantly executed in old luigiish text, at the 
same time expressed the sorrow of his em- 
ployees. On the occasion of his leaving 
Chelsea, a hearty expression of regret was 
given him by the employees of the Elastic 
Gusset Company, accompanied by a handsome 
French marble clock. On August 31, 1891, 



BIOGRAl'HICAI. RKVIEW 



1 29 



when he ictiirned from a trip to I'lngland, his 
employees at Brockton presented liim with a 
fine sih'er water pitcher anti lemonade cooler. 




r/X/l 11. 1. 1AM r. NASON, a weli-ivnown 

Js\l and successful business man of 
Rockland, Mass., was horn at 
Wakefield, N. H., September 23, 1840, son of 
Nahum and Hannah (Watson) Nason. Both 
iiis parents were natives of the town of Wake- 
held, and his father owned a fine farm in that 
place. Nahum Nason died at the a^e of 
seventy-seven years. His wife also died in 
Wakefield, aged sixty-six years. They were 
the parents of six children, of whom three, 
including the subject of this sketch, are now 
living. 

William 1'. Nason, who was the youngest 
child of his parents, was born on his father's 
farm in Wakefield. He attended the district 
schools of the town in his boyhood, but is 
mainly self-educated, having gained his ]")res- 
cnt knowledge of the world antl its affairs 
through experience, and b\- exercising his 
faculty of observation rather than from what 
little schooling he received. In the long va- 
t-ations, and out of school hours, from the 
lime he was old enough to handle a rake or 
hoe, or to milk a cow, he made himself useful 
on the farm until fifteen years old, when he 
left home to seek his own fortunes in the 
wiirld. Going to l^oston, Mass., lie found 
emi)loyment in a livery stable, remaining there 
for about a year, and from Boston he went to 
.South Weymouth, where he worked with a 
lix'cry man named Rogers, with whnni he 
stayed for three years. 

At the exjiiration of this period, having 
acquired a good knowledge of the business, he 
left his eir,ployer, and came to the town of 
Hast Abington, now Rocklantl, where he set 



up for himself in a small way. In a coni- 
l^aratively short time he had established his 
business on a solid footing, and he has since 
gradually enlarged it up to its present satisfac- 
tory proportions. Besides his livery business 
he carries on a large and successful trade in 
horses. Mr. Nason's commodious and well- 
managed stables, which are conveniently situ- 
ated on Vernon Street, are marvels of cleanli- 
ness, being superior in this respect to the best 
of the large city stables. They are equipped 
with all the latest improvements, and contain, 
besides a large number of horses, vehicles of 
every description, including buggies, phae- 
ton.s, surreys, coaches, busses, hacks, traps, 
dog-carts, and a large and handsome English 
tally-ho. 

Mr. Nason and Miss Mary I-:. Bicknell, of 
Abington, were married in September, 1861, 
and they are the parents of two children: 
John, who is at present the foreman in his 
father's stables; and Fannie, wife of Fred O. 
Baker, a clothing merchant of Rockland. Mr. 
Nason belongs to the order of the Knights of 
I'ythias. Since the Civil War he has bc.n 
a Republican in his political affiliations. 




ENJAMIN OWKN STRONG, a 
jHominent merchant of i'hniouth, 
was born February 25. 1832, in 
Granville, Hampden County, son of Ely and 
Betsy (Baldwin) Strong. Ebenezer Strong, 
the grandfather, a prominent farmer who 
owned a large tract of land in Granville, was a 
member of the Presbyterian church. He had 
three sons and two daughters, of whom Ely, 
was the third born. 

I'^ly Strong was a native of Granville, and 
lived there all his life. His trade was that of 
a carpenter and builder. About 1835 he re- 
moved to Cabot, Mass., wheie he was engaged 



'3° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for some years in furniture dealing and under- 
taking. His wife, Betsy, who was a daughter 
of Benjamin Baldwin, of Syracuse, N.Y., bore 
him nine children, of whom Benjamin O. 
Strong was the youngest. She died nine 
months after the birth of her last chiltl. Some 
time after, Ely married her sister, then the 
widow, Sally Frary. She died in 1846. 
After an interval of two years Ely contracted 
a third marriage with Caroline O. Sheldon, 
who bore him three children. His death 
occurred in 1876, at the age of eighty-two 
years. He was a member of the Universa- 
list church, which he served in the capacity 
of Deacon. Benjamin Owen Strong was edu- 
cated in the common schools of Cabot. 
He left home at the age of eleven for a farm 
at Ashleyville, where he remained for four 
years, attending school during the winter 
months, and working for his board and 
clothes in the summer. He next worked for 
a year on Mr. Day's farm near Holyoke, 
and then, for the following year in a brick- 
yard. In the fall of 185 i he went to Boston, 
from which, two months later, he came to 
Plymouth. Here he was clerk in N. M. 
Perry's hotel, the Mansion House, until May, 
1852, when he entered the general store of 
Jameson & Co., as general clerk. After Mr. 
Jameson's death in 1854, Mr. Strong was 
given entire charge of the store. In 1861 he 
bought out the dry goods and millinery depart- 
ments, and has carried them on at the same 
place under his own name. He has enlarged 
the premises so as to make room for his con- 
stantly increasing trade. 

Mr. Strong was first married to Betsy J. 
Chute, of Newburyport, Mass., now deceased. 
On February 17, 1891, he entered a second 
marriage, contracted with Elizabeth H. Snow, 
• of Orleans, Mass. He has two children — 
Charles Alexander and Martha Jane. In Feb- 



ruary, 1884, he took his son into partnership 
with him, and the firm name is now B. O. 
Strong & Son. They carry a full line of 
silks, dress goods, cloaks, sacques, wraps, 
carpets, paper hangings, curtains, and small 
wares. Mr. Strong is a good Republican, but 
he has always kept out of political circles. 
He is a faithful member of the Unitarian 
church of his adopted town of Plymouth. 




ON. CHARLES W. TILTON, a well- 
known citizen of Brockton, was born 
April 6, 1836, in China, Kennebec 
County, Me., son of Zadoc and Tiley (Snell) 
Tilton. His grandfathers were natives of 
Massachusetts. Gibbs Tilton, his father's 
father, who was born in Martha's Vineyard, 
Mass., moved to Albion, Me., where in early 
manhood he was a farmer, and subsequently 
became a carpenter and contractor. He died 
at the age of ninety-six. His wife, whose 
maitlen name was lluldah Chase, a daughter 
of the first white settlers in Unity, Me., had 
eight children. Of these six attained matur- 
ity; namely, Stephen, Zadoc, Hezekiah, 
Bethiah, Jane, and Hannah. Hezekiah is a 
Methodist minister and a Presiding Elder in 
the West; Stephen is now ninety-four years 
old; and Jane and Bethiah lived about eighty 
and ninety years respectively. Both parents 
were members of the Society of Friends. The 
mother lived to be ninety-six years old. Her 
mother had reached the remarkable age of one 
hundred and six years. 

Zadoc Tilton, the father of Charles W., was 
a native of Albion, Me. He learned the car- 
penter's trade with his father, and subse- 
quently became a contractor in Troy, Me. He 
married Tiley, a daughter of Zebedee and 
Hannah Snell, of China, Me. By their union 
there were nine children, eight of whom grew 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i.T 



to maturity. 'I'lioso were: Joliii Warren, 
Lavinia S. , ICiinice A., Charles W. , Hubert 
I'., George K. , Bryon P., Horace A., and 
Abby P. George died in the service of his 
country during the Civil War; Lavinia died 
in this city when a young woman; and Hu- 
bert has also passed away. Tlie father was a 
niemiier of t!ie Society ot I'Viends in his early 
life, but later became a Methodist exhorter. 
He lived to be si.\ty-five, while his wife, who 
dietl at the old homestead in Troy, was but 
fifty years old. 

Ciiarles W. Tilton removed with his parents 
to Jackson, Me., when he was but three years 
old. Four years after he accompanied them 
to Troy, where he worked on the farm. At 
the age of eighteen, having acquired a com- 
mon-school education, he came to Brockton, 
to work for J. H. Ames in the express busi- 
ness. A year later he obtained employment 
in a shoe factory, and was afterward connected 
with shoemaking for over forty years, serving 
as foreman in different finishing-rooms for 
thirty-five years. In 1X62, responding to the 
call for men to aid in suppressing the Rebell- 
ion, he enlisted for nine months in Company 
K, Forty-third Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, and afterward fought in the battles of 
Kingston, N.C., Whiteiiall, and Goldsboro. 
During a part of the time he was in the Forty- 
third Pioneer Corps, in wliirh department he 
renilered efficient service. In July, 1863, he 
was honorably discharged. In politics Mr. 
Tilton affiliates with the Republican party. 
In 18S2 he was Inspector of Flections, and for 
the five years following served in the City 
Council. In 1886 he was a member of the 
Hoard of Aldermen from Ward i . The ne.xt 
year he was appointed to the Board of Registra- 
tion, on which he served for three terms of 
three years each. In i8g6 he was sent to the 
legislature, where he was placed on the Com- 



mittee of Counties, and on .Special Committee 
to redistrict the State. 

On January 20, 185S, he was united in mar- 
riage with Lydiaette, daughter of JCJiiihalet 
and Fydia Thayer, of this city. By this union 
there are four children — George L. , Uufus 
F., Fdward K., and C. Herman. George L. 
is foreman in the finishing-room of Thompson 
& Brothers' shoe factory; Rufus F. and Fd- 
ward F. constitute the Brockton Welting 
Company; C. Herman is a foreman in the 
finishing-room of the Bion 1". Reynold's shoe 
factory. Mr. Tilton is fraternally connected 
with the Fletcher Webster Post, No. 13, 
Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has 
officiated as Chaplain for two years. He is 
likewise well known in religious circles, hav- 
ing served the First Congregational Church, 
of which he is a member, on the Buikling 
Committee, and on the Parish Committee 
nearly three years. 




ON. I.l'AVIS PRATT LORING, one 
of Hull's former legislative represen- 
tatives, was born here, July 10, 
1822, son of Samuel and Lucy (Pratt) Lor- 
ing. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas 
and Jane (Newton) Loring. who came to Amer- 
ica with their two children in 1634, locating 
temporarily in Dorchester, Mass. These an- 
cestors subsequently moved to Hingham, where 
Thomas drew a lot on Town Street. The 
latter was made a freeman in 1635 or 1636, 
after which he came with his family to Hull, 
where his last days were spent. He officiated 
as Deacon in Ilingham for eleven years. By 
his marriage to Jane Newton, there were si.\ 
children, namely: Thomas, born in 1629; 
John, born in 1630; Isaac, born in l('>39; 
Isaac (second) and his twin brother, Josiah, 
born in 1642; ami Benjamin, born in 1644. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



The father died in April, 1661, and the 
mother in June, 1672. 

Benjamin Loring, who' was a farmer and a 
lifelong resident of Hull, on December 8, 
1670, married Mary Hawk, daughter of Mat- 
thew and Margaret Hawk. He was made a 
freeman in 1673, and also officiated as Deacon 
for many years. His son Samuel, born in 
1680, who was also a farmer and spent his life 
in Hull, was married April 19, 1716, to Jane, 
daughter of John and Mary Colyer. Samuel's 
son, Samuel (second), the next in line, was 
born February 3, 1720. He also passed his 
entire life in his native town, married Jane 
Gould, and died in 1813, the ninety-third year 
of his age. His son, Samuel (tliird), the 
grandfather of Lewis Pratt Loring, was born 
on November 9, 1753. He married Huldah 
Gould, a native of this town, and a daughter 
of John and flannah (Brewster) Gould. Her 
mother was a lineal descendant of Elder Will- 
iam Brewster, the spiritual adviser of the Pil- 
grims, who was born in Lngland in 1560, and 
died in Plymouth in 1644. His son Love 
married Sarah, daughter of Mr. Colyer, May 
16, 1634. William, son of Love and Sarah 
(Colyer) Brewster, married Lydia Partridge, 
January 2, 1672. Their son William, born 
May 4, 1683, married Hopestill Wadsworth. 
Huldah, the next in line, married John Gould, 
Jr., the maternal great-grandfather. He was 
a descendant of Lieutenant Robert Gould, a 
native of England, who came to America in 
1660, when he was eighteen years old. He 
had an uncle in Hull whom he joined, and 
whose property he subsequently inherited, 
thereafter becoming a prominent man in town 
affairs. The line of descent is as follows: 
Robert Gould's son Joseph had a son John, 
whose son, John, Jr., had a daughter Huldah, 
who married Samuel Loring, the grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch. 



Samuel Loring, Jr., the father of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in Hull, October 21, 
1784. He received his education in the com- 
mon school. At the age of fifteen he lost his 
right hand. About four years later he went 
to Boston, where he served as clerk until the 
War of 1 812. Then he returned to Hull, and 
engaged in farming. He officiated as Town 
Clerk for many years, besides filling other 
local offices. He died November 9, 1868, at 
the age of eighty-four. His wife, Lucy, 
a daughter of Laban and Lucy Pratt, was a de- 
scendant of Matthew Pratt, one of the first 
settlers of Weymouth, and a Revolutionary 
soldier. She died in 1871, in the eighty-fifth 
year of her age, having reared eight of her 
nine children ; namely, Lucy, Abner, Samuel 
H., Nancy, Lewis P., Sarah J., Rachel, and 
Ansel P. 

Lewis P. Loring acquired his education in 
the public school. In his early manhfood he 
went to Boston to learn the trade of copper- 
smith and plumber, remaining there until 
1S50. He then returned to his native town, 
where he has since continued to reside. 
Formerly a Whig in politics, he has been a 
stanch supporter of the Republican party since 
its organization. Besides serving creditably 
in various town offices, he represented Hull in 
the legislatin-e of 1890-91. A man of much 
public spirit, he has always been actively in- 
terested in the welfare of his native town. 



CiMIL 



^MIL LAGERGREN, of Brockton, the 
\^} well-known elocutionist and teacher of 
languages, was born here, September 
3, 1858, a son of John C. and Wilhelmina 
(Hedelius) Lagergren. His parents are of 
Swedish birth, and both of good family. The 
mother, now seventy-five years old, who is now 
residing in Sweden, is a daughter of Eric 



^«3mh 


■ 


^y^ 






1 


jJC^^^f^^E. 


^ 



EMIL LAGERGREN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'35 



Ilcdclius, an eminent la\v)er <il tliat country, 
who was on the Oiiccn's Hench, and a sister 
of a well-known banker of Sweden. The 
Hcdelius estates have been in the family three 
hundred years. Her children were a son and 
daughter. The daughter, who is married, 
lives in Hrockton. 

■ •'.mil Lagergren grailuatetl from the Hmck- 
ton High School, the academy at Kast Green- 
wich, R.I., and the Boston School of Oratory. 
He studied the German and Swedish languages 
in Europe, and afterward taught those tongues 
to luiglish pujiils. l"or a year he had charge 
of the luiglisii department in Ansgari College 
at Knoxville, 111., a Swedish-American insti- 
tution. While there he accepted the proffer 
of the Assistant I'ostmastership at Campello. 
He was subseciuently in the l^rockton post- 
office for some time. Then he was engaged as 
elocution teacher at the "Old Den," Ridgeway 
Lane. For the past ten years he has given 
lessons in English and Swedish in ilifferent 
places, having classes in Worcester, Cam- 
britlge, Boston, and Chicago: and for the 
past six years he has had charge of the Swed- 
ish department in the evening schools of 
Brockton. His lioston address is the Tremont 
Temple, where he hires a room. As an elo- 
cutionist, he has made a special study of noted 
actors and actresses; and ho studied Shakspere 
with Professor R. R. Raymond, who was con- 
sidered the best Shakspcrian reader in Amer- 
ica. Add to this exceptional training a natu- 
ral talent for his art, and it is needless to say 
that as a public reader he is very popular, and 
has many engagements. His dialect readings 
are good, while his Shaksperian renditions 
are very fine. Mr. Lagergren's boyish ambi- 
tion was to be an actor, but his parents disap- 
proved of the stage. He occasionally, how- 
ever, takes ])art in dramatic productions. 
When the dramatization of "Ben-Hur" was 



given in Brockton, he admirably sustained the 
leading part. He also derives some income 
from acting as a broker in real estate, mort- 
gages, and investments. 

Mr. Lagergren was married March 13, 1896, 
to .Miss Nora Condon, daughter of Captain 
R. B. Condon, of Brockton. 

He is a Ma.son in good standing, and has 
been Chaplain of I'aul Revere Lodge, of 
Brockton. He is also a member of the L'nited 
Order of Pilgrim Fathers. 



fOSi':i'H HIAVETT, for thirty )e.os a 
resident of Brockton, where he will 
long be remembered for his nobility of 
character and his hearty interest in educa- 
tional and religious work, was born in Dux- 
bury, Mass., August 6. 1S04, ^^<^ died in 
Brockton, May 13, 1894. His parents were 
Joseph and Abigail (Harlow) Hewett, both of 
whom traced their ancestry to the seventeenth 
century. This branch of the family, which 
began with Thomas "Huet," who was born in 
1609 and died in 1670, was continued by 
Scdomon, son of Thomas, born in 1670, who 
died in 1715: by Joseph (first), born in 1702, 
who died in 1749; by Joseph (second), the 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, born 
in 1739, who died in 1769; Joseph (third), 
the father, born November 13, 1764, married 
in March, 1796, Abigail Harlow, who was 
born November 26, 1770. He was a sea cap- 
tain until between 1800 and 1X04, when he 
purchased a farm in MarshHeld, and settkul 
down to the life of an agriculturist. He was 
very influential in local affairs, and served in 
many of the town offices. He died in No- 
vember, 1833. Gideon Harlow, the father of 
Abigail, was born in 1744, and died in 181 1, 
aged sixty-seven. Eleazer, the father of 
Gideon, was born in 1720, and died in iSi2, 



>36 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



aged ninety-two. His father, l-'leazer, Sr., 
was a son of William Marlow. 

When his parents moved to Marshfield, 
Joseph Hewett was a mere child. After at- 
tending the district school for the customary 
period, he took up the study of languages 
under the tuition of the Rev. Martin Paris. 
When about twenty years old he commenced 
teaching in the school of his own district, 
having some of his former schoolmates among 
his pupils. He followed this occupation until 
1844, a period of about twenty years, and then 
devoted his time exclusively to the duties of 
the various political and religious positions 
he held, and to the management of his farm. 
On this property, which contained about one 
hundred acres, he raised considerable stock, 
giving employment to a number of men. He 
was a leader in politics, and counted among 
his intimate friends Daniel Webster, who 
used to frequently visit at his house. He 
was not of those who sought office, but, owing 
to the high esteem in which he was held by 
the community, was often importuned to ac- 
cept ofifice, and served several- years as As- 
sessor, a number of years as Selectman, also 
as Overseer of the Poor. He was particularly 
interested in educational matters, and was a 
member of the .School Committee of Marsh- 
field. In 1S64 he came to Brockton, where 
he purchased a place of si.xteen acres, but did 
not ensiase in active business. He was for 
many years a member of the Congregational 
church and a Deacon, both in Marshfield and 
Brockton. Though of a modest and retiring 
disposition, his counsel was frequently sought 
in legal and other matters. He was very 
benevolent, and his assistance was bestowed 
with so little ostentation that few besides 
those he aided ever knew of his numerous 
kindly deeds. 

On December 25, 1830, Mr. Hewett mar- 



ried Sarah T. Baker, who was born November 
28, 1809, daughter of Samuel Baker, of Marsh- 
field. Of Mr. Hewett's children, all hut 
two attained maturity. Lucius died in No- 
vember, 1859, aged twenty-seven: Herman 
died at Brockton in January, 1885, aged fifty- 
one years and two months; Ellen E. lives in 
Brockton; Edward A., a resident of Bridge- 
water is in business in Brockton; Abbie is 
the wife of Harvey O. Mitchell, of Brockton; 
S. Myron died in 1887; Nancy lives in Brock- 
ton; Sarah A. died in September, 1857; and 
Justin resides in Brockton. The mother, who 
was a member of the Congregational church, 
died in January, 1886. 




DMUND THURSTON DAMON, of 
Plymouth, the organizer and conductor 
of the Plymouth Band, and a well- 
known teacher of instrumental music, was 
born in Plymouth, September 7, 1858, son of 
Calvin S. Damon. The family descends from 
a Scotchman, who settled in Marshfield, this 
county. Lincoln Damon, Mr. Damon's grand- 
father, was born in Marshfield, and was one of 
a family of seven sons. He was a ship-car- 
penter, and followed his trade in Scituate and 
Cohasset, Mass., for a number of years. He 
finally bought the old homestead in Marsh- 
field, where he was engaged in general farm- 
ing for the rest of his life. With his wife, 
who in maidenhood was a Miss Sherman, of 
Marshfield, he reared a family of three sons 
and two daughters, of whom Calvin, Sr. , Mr. 
Damon's father, was the fourth-born. 

Calvin S. Damon passed his youth in Marsh- 
field. In young manhood he came to Ply- 
mouth, where his natural business ability 
found a broader field of action. He became 
manager for the Plymouth Cordage Company, 
a position which he ably filled for twenty-five 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'37 



years. I^'oiul of music Inini early boyhood, he 
devoted much time to the study of that art, 
and was afterward organist at the Unitarian and 
Haptist churclies in Plymouth and at a church 
in Kingston. He continued to cultivate the 
art in his leisure hours until his death, which 
hajipened in the spring of 18S4. Mis wife 
was a daughter of James Crosslcy, of Duxbury, 
Mass., a gentleman of English birth, and a 
son of the Earl of Crosslcy. On account of 
a iiii'scjl/ioiicc, he was disowned by his family, 
and came to America. It is said that a large 
fortune awaits his descendants. Mr. and Mrs. 
Calvin S. Damon were the parents of six chil- 
dren, four sons and two daughters, of whom 
three sons are now living. 

I'^dmuntl Thurston Damon, the fifth born of 
his parents" children, acquired his education 
at a private .school. At an early age he gave 
abundant evidence that he had inherited his 
lather's talent for music. He subsequently 
became proficient in instrumental music, and 
while still a youth he joined Gilmore's famous 
band of Boston as a trombone jilayer. His 
connection with this organization lasted until 
Mr. Gilmore removed to New York, when he 
joined the Boston Cadet Band. After playing 
with the Cadets for fifteen years he returned 
to Plymouth, and opened music rooms. Here 
he has since been giving instruction in insiru- 
nienlal music, making a successful specialty 
ol preparing pupils for bands and orchestras. 
Some time ago he organized the Plymouth 
Hand, of which he is still the conductor. 
This body of instrumentalists, consisting of 
twenty-seven men, ranks among the best bands 
in the State. During the summer season, at 
the Casino, it gives a series of concerts that 
are highly enjoyed by the citizens, and all 
others who attend them. At different times 
he has played with "picked" orchestras on 
special occasions. Among these was that 



which |)layed at the farewell appearance of 
Madame Patti in Boston. 

On September 19, iSSf), Mr. Damon was 
united in marriage to Amy W. Phinncy, 
daughter of I.cavitt and Rebecca I'hinney, of 
Kingston, Mass. lie belongs to the Plymouth 
Musical Club, and is a member oi the .Stand- 
ing Committee. He has also membership in 
Plymouth Lodge, A. V. & A. .M. : and in 
Mayflower Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. 



n> 



IDi:ON STUD LEY, a manufacturer 
\^^ I of the town of Rockland, was horn 
here June 12, 1851, .son of Gideon 
and Priscilla B. (Shaw) Studlcy. 1 1 is father, 
who was a native of Hanover, this county, 
after following for a time the trade of a car- 
penter, established himself in the business 
of manufacturing boot and shoe boxes, box 
boards, and other similar articles. His fac- 
tory is the oldest of the kind in the vicinity. 
After the establishment of this business, how- 
ever, he resumed carpentering, and the town 
of Rockland contains many buildings after- 
ward put up under his supervision. His wife, 
Priscilla, now eighty-one years old, and resid- 
ing in Rockland, was born in liiast Abington. 
By her he became the father of six children, 
who all reached maturity. A public-spirited 
citizen, he was personally |)opular, not only 
from the keen interest he took in the general 
welfare of the community, but because of his 
ready sympathy and aid for the unfortunate. 
He died in his home at Rockland, at the age 
of seventy-two years, mourned by all who 
knew him. 

Gideon Studlcy, the youngest surviving 
child of his parents, received his education in 
the public schools. At the age of sixteen he 
went into his father's box factory. Here he 
soon acquired a mastery of the business, and 



138 



BIOGRAPHICAL KF.VIKVV 






CDiitinuud to work at it until his father's 
death. The factory then came into his pos- 
session, and he has since successfully con- 
ducted it alone. IncludiuL;- the time spent 
with his father, he has manufactured boxes 
and sold lumber and real estate for about 
twenty-nine years. 

On January i, 1874, Mr. Studley married 
Hannah E. , a daughter f)f Horace C. Totman, 
and they became the parents of eleven chil- 
dren, of whom five sons and five daughters are 
living. Mr. Studley generally affiliated with 
the Republican party, but of late years he has 
been independent in his political action. He 
is a man of keen intelligence and much gen- 
eral information, and his opinions on the 
leading questions of the day are respected by 
those who know his sincerity. He belongs to 
Standish Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. The family occupy a pleasant resi- 
dence on Market Street, not far from Mr. 
Studley's factory and mill. 




MASA S. GLOVER, of Brockton, is 
a veteran of the late war, who during 
his term of service became a close 
friend of General Sherman. He was born in 
Dorchester, Mass., July 25, 18 17, a son of 
Alexander and Jemima (Tolman) Glover, and 
is of the ninth generation of his family in 
this country. The immigrant progenitor, 
Mr. John Glover, son of Thomas and Margery 
(Deane) Glover, of Rainhill Parish, Prescot, 
England, came to America about 1630, and 
settled in Dorchester. He possessed large 
estates, and some of the land that he owned 
was held by the Glover family from 1628 to 
1891, in all that time — two hundred and 
sixty-three years — being neither mortgaged 
nor sold. John Glover was a captain of the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of 



London. He was a Selectman of Dorchester, 
Representative to the General Court, and an 
Assistant in 165 1. He was a P'ree Mason. 
Several generations of Glovers succeeding the 
Hon. John Glover lived and died in Dorches- 
ter. Alexander, the father of the direct sub- 
ject of this sketch, was the son of Alexander, 
Sr., and Hannah (Pope) Glover, of Dorches- 
ter. He died in 1846, and his wife in 1873. 
They were the parents of eleven children. 

Amasa S. Glover, the youngest of his 
father's family, was born in the old house 
built by his remote ancestor, the Hon. John 
Glover. At the age of fifteen he entered the 
employ of Howard & Clark, furniture manu- 
facturers of Brockton. In their establishment 
he learned the trade of cabinet-making, and he 
was the only apprentice that they ever freed 
properly. In 1839 his health was so poor that 
he was obliged to give up his trade, and from 
1840 till 1842 he remained at home with his 
parents. He then went to work in a shoe fac- 
tory, and in 1858 he began tu manufacture 
shoes. Tlie breaking out of the war ruined 
his business, as he had creditors in the South, 
and, closing up his establishment, he enlisted, 
being one of the first volunteers from Brock- 
ton. He was first enrolled as a musician in 
the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment, under 
Colonel P'letcher Webster. Subsequently he 
re-enlisted in Company H, Thirty-third 
Massachusetts Regiment, and was requested 
to take a horse. This he at first declined to 
do, but afterward consented. He was with 
General Sherman during his entire campaign, 
and was offered an officer's commission, but 
refused to take it. 

An incident, mentioned in the Rev. Minot 
J. Savage's sermon on "Trifles," illustrates 
the executive ability of Mr. Glover, and at 
the same time shows the utility of the "army 
of tradesmen," as it has been scornfully 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•39 



called. Sherman's men, while climbing the 
Tennessee Mountains after the battle of 
Chickaniaiiga, became barefoot in their prog- 
ress over the rough roads: ami the General 
was at his wit's end to supply their needs. 
Learning that Mr. Glover had been a shoe 
manufacturer, he said to him: "I cannot move 
the army. Can you help me'? All that I can 
give you is plenty of raw hides." Mr. Glover 
set to work immediately and cut out patterns. 
Sherman placed a thousand men at his dis- 
posal, and tlie ne.xt afternoon the men were 
shod and ready to march. The acquaintance 
thus begun between Mr. Glover and General 
Sherman ripened into a warm friendship, and 
Mr. Glover cherishes as a memento a letter 
from him dated in i8S8, couched in the most 
cordial terms. Among his other valued 
friends in the army were General Henry VV. 
Slocum, of Brooklyn, X.Y. , and the late Gen- 
eral William Cogswell. Mr. Glover received 
his discharge in June, 1865, after four years 
of service. On his return to Hrockton, he 
resumed work in Howard & Clark's furniture 
manufactory, and remained some twelve years. 
His mind is always in a state of earnest activ- 
ity, and he is now elaborating a ])lan to dis- 
pose of sewerage, which has already become 
popular. At present his engineer, Mr. B. T. 
Wheeler, e.\-Superintendent of Streets of Bos- 
ton, is putting in some plants. 

Mr. Glover married Sophia, daughter of 
Samuel Packard, of North Bridgewater, and he 
has four children, namely: Sarah B., widow 
of A. M. I'arrar, Gilmanton, N. H. ; Amanda, 
wife of D. P. Kenny, of Abington, now resid- 
ing in Brockton; Hannah B. , widow of Walter 
M. Holmes, of Brockton, who was a drummer 
in Sherman's army; and Walter S., a citizen 
of lioston. In politics Mr. Glover is a strong 
Republican. He was electee! to the Common 
Council from Ward i, and served two years. 



He keeps u}) his army associations by attend- 
ing the meetings of I-"letcher Webster Post, 
i\o. 13, Grand Army of the Republic, of 
Brockton, of which he is a charter member. 




1 1. LI AM II. THOMAS, the effi- 
cient superintendent of the Hing- 
ham Water Company, was born in 
Ilingham, June 12, 1845, son of Benjamin 
and Sally L. (Leavitt) Thomas. His great- 
grandfather. Prince Thomas, came from Wey- 
mouth, Norfolk County, to Hingham, where 
he resided for several years. Prince was a 
blacksmith by trade, and died June 4, 1797, at 
the age of forty-si. \. His wife, in maidenhood 
Abigail Pratt, to whom he was married in 
Weymouth, died in Hingham, August 30, 
1833, at the age of seventy-seven. Of their 
seven childien, Benjamin, the eldest, born at 
Weymouth, January 18, 1776, was also a 
blacksmith. He first married, August 19, 
1798, Lydia Whiton, who was a daughter of 
Jacob and Elizabeth (Marble) Whiton, and 
died May 24, 1837. On February 27, 1842, 
he entered a second marriage, contracted with 
Ann Webb, of Weymouth. Benjamin died 
September 13, 184S. He was a forcible pub- 
lic speaker, while uniformly courteous, and 
he was greatly missed in town meetings. By 
his first marriage there were five children — 
Benjamin, William, Reuben, Lydia, and 
David. Benjamin, the father of the subject 
of this article, was born in Hingham, l-'ebru- 
ary 9, 1799. On April 22, 1S27, he married 
Sally Lincoln Leavitt, who was born in Hing- 
ham, January 16, 1803, daughter of Jerome 
and Sally (Lincoln) Leavitt. Their children 
were George and William Henry. 

After acquiring his eilucation, William 11. 
Thomas worked at farming, and at whatever 
else offered by which he couUl earn an honest 



140 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



living. In October, 1861, he enlisted for the 
Civil War, and in the following November 
was mustered into Company A, First Battal- 
ion of Massachusetts Infantry, recruited for 
garrison duty, and commenced service at Fort 
Warren in Boston Harbor. Six months later 
his company formed the nucleus of the Thirty- 
second Regiment, Masschusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, which was then organized and assigned 
to the Army of the Potomac, Fifth Army 
Corps. Mr. Thomas was taken sick, and re- 
mained in the Emory Hospital, Washington, 
D. C, for eighteen months. While he was 
convalescent he served as nurse, and proved 
himself so helpful that he was detailed as 
ward master. At the end of his three years' 
enlistment he was honorably discharged, and 
returned to Hingham. He then learned the 
house painting trade, which he followed until 
1880, when he was employed by the Hingham 
Water Company as Assistant Superintendent. 
In the fall of 1893 he became superintendent, 
which office he still creditably fills. He is 
also Auditor of the Hingham Co-operati\e 
Bank, and Trustee of the Hingham Institu- 
tion for Savings. 

On October 30, 1867, Mr. Thomas was 
united in marriage with Mary W. Higgins, a 
native of this town, and a daughter of Ezra 
and Mary M. (Seymour) Higgins. By this 
marriage there were four children, of whom 
two, Willie L. and Theodore W., are de- 
ceased. The others are: Harry L., now assist- 
ant superintendent of the Hingham Water 
Company; and Helen A., who resides at 
home. Mr. Thomas is a man of liberal and 
progressive ideas, and stands high in the 
community. He is in communion with the 
old Unitarian First Parish Church (formerly 
Congregational), and is an esteemed member 
of the Parish Committee. He is the Secretary 
of the Hingham Agricultural Society, and he 



has been Secretary of the Hingham Horticult- 
ural Society since 1875. In politics he is a 
loyal Republican. The office of Secretary of 
Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., has been 
filled by him since 1873. He has also mem- 
bership in John A. Andrew Lodge, Knights 
of Honor, and the Veteran Firemen's Associa- 
ton; in the Business Men's Club, of which he 
is the Treasurer; and the Edward Humphrey 
Post, No. 104, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of which he is Past Commander. 




AMUEL PEARLY GATES, Treas- 
urer of the Eagle Cotton Gin Com- 
])any, of Bridgewater, and Treasurer 
also of the Bridgewater Savings Bank, is one of 
the foremost business men in a town noted for 
its able financiers. A son of Pearly and Mary 
(Bun") Gates, both natives of Ashby, Mass., 
he was born in that town, June 8, 1837. The 
Gates family and the Burr family are of Eng- 
lish origin. On the maternal side Mr. Gates 
is of Revolutionary stock, his mother's grand- 
father, Abijah Butler, having served in the 
Continental army. 

Samuel Pearly Gates was reared on his 
father's farm in Ashby, and acquired his edu- 
cation in the district school near his home. 
In his nineteenth year he entered the State 
Normal School at Bridgewater, where he 
studied for a year and a half; and he then 
obtained a clerkship in the office of Bates, 
Hyde & Co., now the Eagle Cotton Gin Com- 
pany. After serving for a number of years as 
clerk, learning thoroughly all the details of the 
business, he became a member of the company. 
Since 1877, when the Eagle Cotton Gin Com- 
pany was incorporated, Mr. Gates has ably 
discharged the duties of Treasurer. The 
Eagle Cotton Gin manufactory is in a flourish- 
ing condition, employing on an average fifty 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



"43 



hands. Mr. Gates owns a controlling interest 
in tlic business. He has been Treasurer of 
the liriclgewater .Savings Hank since 1872, the 
year of its incorporation. He is a Director in 
the liriclgewater Water Company; one of the 
(liicetors in the Briclgewater Box Company; 
and he is a I'rustee of the Briclgewater Public 
Library and the Hridgewater Academy, and 
also of the Hridgewater Cemetery Association. 
He has also much business to transact in the 
settling of estates. 

On October 26, 1S71, he was united in mar- 
riage with Marcia K., daughter of Jacob and 
Joan (Holmes) Jackson, of Plymouth, Mass. 
Mrs. Gates died in January, 1873, and her 
little daughter also passed away in the July 
following, after a brief existence of six 
mfinths. 

In politics Mr. Gates favors the Rei)ublican 
side. When President Lincoln was calling 
for volunteers to meet the uprising in the 
South he responded, enlisting in April, 1S63, 
in the regular army of the United States for 
five years. He was given a clerkshii) in the 
War Department at Washington, and after 
about one year's service, by special permission 
of the Secretary of War, he was discharged. 
Mr. Gates is a member of Bridgewater Post 
No. 205, Grand Army of the Re]3ublic, and 
of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, 
headquarters at New York ; also of the Sons of 
the American Revolution. A member of the 
New Jerusalem Church, he takes a deep inter- 
est in the welfare of the society, and has been 
for some time on the P'inance Committee. 



«^»»-» 



^IllLANDER J. HOLMES, a promi- 
^^ nent manufacturer of Carver, was 
- born in Lakeville, this county, Janu- 

ary 22, 1843, son of Jacob and Ann (McCom- 
ber) Holmes. Ann was Jacob's second wife. 



He was married three times. By his first wife 
he became the father of William Holmes, who 
now lives at Taunton, Mass. With Ann he 
reared five children — Charles, Philander J., 
Gardner K., Achsah, and Fanny. 

When he was (piite young. Philander J. 
went with his parents to Middleboro, where 
his early boyhood was spent. At the age of 
twelve he came with his parents to Carver. 
He lived on the home farm until he was 
eighteen. Then, with the purpose of becom- 
ing a machinist, he went to New York, and 
for about three years ajiplied himself dili- 
gently to the task of learning the trade. He 
was not yet twenty-one when he passed an 
examination as a marine engineer in the navy. 
He was at first appointed on special duty in 
New York. From there he was sent to New- 
burgh as assistant engineer, and subsequently 
to the Philadelphia Navy Yard to serve in a 
similar capacity. After ten months spent 
here, he was assigned to a war vessel, and 
subsequently took part in the marine blockade 
for a year. The man-of-war made a voyage 
to the West Indies before going back to New 
York. He then went aboard a vessel that 
cruised off the South American coast for about 
a year, having Aspinwall as its objective 
point. On returning to New York the ship 
went out of commission. Two years after, he 
returned to Carver, where he took possession 
of his father's manufacturing interests at 
the location he now occupies. For about 
twenty-two years he has been engaged in the 
manufacture of kegs, box boards, "staves, and 
headings. He also owns about a hundreil 
acres of land, where he carries on general 
farming. 

In November, 1869, Mr. Holmes was mar- 
ried to Miss Helen I"". Bent, ilaughter of Ira 
and Sally .Ann Bent, of Carver. Two chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holmes 



144 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



— Mabel and Jessie. In politics Mr. Holmes 
takes an independent course. Besides filling 
other town offices he has been Fire Warden 
and Surveyor of Lumber. He is widely and 
favorably known in this district. In religious 
belief he is a Swedenborgian, and he is con- 
nected by membership with the order of 
United Workmen. 



-t^TENRY BRETT PACKARD, of 
r^J Brockton, a prominent business man, 
Ji® V ^ and an e.\-member of the Massa- 
chusetts legislature, was born here, January 
21, 1823, son of Apollos and Sophia (Brett) 
Packard. Mr. I'ackard is a descendant of 
Samuel Packard, who came in the ship "Dili- 
gence " from Windham, near Hingham, Eng- 
land, and settled in Hingham, Mass., in 
1638. His great-grandfather was Thomas 
Packard. Parmenus Packard, the grandfather, 
who was an invalid for many years, wedded 
Martha Reynolds. 

Apollos Packard was born in North Bridge- 
water, the former name of Brockton, and the 
active period of his life was spent in shoemak- 
ing and farming. An upright, conscientious 
man, and a worthy citizen, he took a deep in- 
terest in religious work, was a member of the 
Porter Congregational Church, and died at the 
age of seventy-four years. His first wife, 
Sophia, became the mother of three children, 
of whom Henry B., the subject of this sketch, 
is the only one now living. His second wife, 
before marriage Betsey Packard, became the 
mother of three children — Davis S., Freder- 
ick W., and Apollos Moulton. His third 
marriage was contracted with Mrs. Salome 
Bradford, whose first husband, William Brad- 
ford, was a descendant of the famous Governor 
Bradford. 

Henry Brett Packard acquired a good practi- 



cal education. When a young man he became 
connected with the shoemaking industr}', and 
worked in the factories of this locality until 
he was forty years old. He then formed a 
partnership with Darius Howard, for the pur- 
pose of engaging in the manufacture of boots 
and shoes. The firm of Howard & Packard 
was the first to introduce what is known as the 
gang system. They continued in business for 
nine years, at the expiration of which time 
Mr. Packard withdrew from the business, and 
has since devoted his attention to real estate. 
On October 27, 1844, Mr. Packard was united 
in marriage to Lucinda Hayward, who was born 
in Kingston, Mass., in 1824, daughter of Ira 
Hayward. By him she became the mother of 
six children, as follows: Davis H., a business 
man of Rochester, N.Y.; Abbott Winslow, of 
Boston; Elliott Sampson, who died in 1865; 
Lucy Sophia, who successively married George 
Storey, of Manchester, Mass., and Charles W. 
Hayden, of Brockton; lildith Scott, who mar- 
ried Salmon Tirrell, a native of Maine, hut 
now a resident of Brockton; and Susan Brad- 
ford, who married Wallace E. Faxon, a native 
of Abington, who now resides in this city. 

In politics Mr. Packard was formerly a 
Democrat. He represented Brockton in the 
legislature during the year 1877-78, and 
was a member of the State House Com- 
mittee. In 1878 he was a member of the 
Board of Selectmen of North Bridgewater; 
was elected Superintendent of Streets in 1882, 
in which capacity he served with ability for 
three years; and he acted as Chairman of the 
Board of Health for two years. Both as a busi- 
ness man and a public servant, he has gained 
the respect of all with whom he has come 
in contact. He is a member of the Porter Con- 
gregational Church. He has always resided 
in his native town, and his daughters are liv- 
ing; within a short distance of his homestead. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•45 



/^^TkORGE 1\I. Kl'.nil is the Vicc- 
V fi> I I'resideiit of the I'2ast Brulgewater 
Savings Banl< and the Superintend- 
ent of the Bridgewater Water Company. He 
was horn November i, 1.S30, in I'last Bridge- 
water, the birthplace also of his parents, 
George and Fidelma (Clift) Keith. By both 
father and mother he is of Scotch descent. 
The founder of the family was a Scotch 
clergyman, the Rev. James Keith, who was 
the pioneer preacher of this part of Massachu- 
setts. George Kcitli, a son of 1-lIeazcr Keith, 
was born in 1790, and died in 1873. Besides 
conducting a farm he worked at mechanical 
occupations during a large part of his life, 
lie also served as a soldier in the War of 
1 8 12 and subsequently drew a pension from 
the government. His wife was a daughter of 
Anthony Winslow Clift, who fought for inde- 
pendence in the Revolution. His surviving 
children are: Bethiah, the wife of Stephen 
Harlow, a retired business man of East 
Bridgewater; and George M., the subject of 
this article. 

George M. Keith acquired his education in 
the common schools and at Kast Bridgewater 
Academy. He began to learn to make shoes 
when he was thirteen years old, and subse- 
quently followed the trade until i886. For 
seventeen years he was foreman for J. S. 
Allen, a shoe manufacturer of Brockton. In 
the fall of 1862 he enlisted for service in the 
Civil War, joining Company K, Third Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, for nine months. 
l"or some time he was stationed at New Berne, 
N.C., and he participated in the battles of 
Kingston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro. At 
New I^erne Mr. Keith superintended the car- 
penters who were employed in the erection of 
a military hospital. After receiving his dis- 
charge in May, 1863, he returned to his em- 
ployment in Kast Bridgewater. A man of 



character and ability, he naturally takes a 
leading part in the community. He was a 
member of the Investment Committee of the 
East Bridgewater Savings Bank for a number 
of years. He has held his present office, that 
of Vice-President, for several years. He has 
been the superintendent of the Bridgewater 
Water Company since 1892. Mr. Keith, 
who is a Republican in politics, served sev- 
eral years as Selectman of East Bridgewater. 
By his marriage with .Miss Julia Howard, of 
West Bridgewater, Mr. Keith had five chil- 
dren, all of whom have passed away. One 
grandchild is living. This is Miriam K., 
the child of their daughter, Ada F. and her 
husband, Zenas A. Jenkins, of East Bridge- 
water. Mr. Keith is one of the Deacons of 
the Union Congregational Church in this 
town. 




AMUEL ADAMS HOLBROOK, 
one of Brockton's most popular 
citizens while proprietor of the 
market at the corner of Centre and Montello 
Streets, was born in Elmwood, Mass., July 
24, 1834, a son of Arvin and Sarah J. (Keen) 
Holbrook. Arvin Holbrook, a native of 
South Weymouth, Mass., had three other chil- 
dren, all daughters. Samuel having been 
reared and educated in EInnvood, came in 
1855 to Brockton, then North Bridgewater, 
and made his home here for the rest of his life. 
In 1874 he opened a market on Main Street, 
and in course of time acquired a flourishing 
trade. His ownership of the market on Centre 
and Montello Streets dated from 1855. An 
honest, upright man, and of the cheery dis- 
position so frequently a trait of markotmcn, 
he kept his old customers, and continually 
added new ones to his list, making his market 
one of the most successful in the locality. 
Mr. Holbrook sang bass in the Gurney Glee 



146 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Club, the Masonic Quartet of Paul Revere 
Lodge, which he joined in uS/O; and for nine- 
teen years he was a member of the choir of the 
First Congregational Church of Brockton. 
He died Febf«ary-^i8, 1895, aged sixty years, 
six months, and &©- days, and was buried 
with Masonic honors. 

Mr. Holbrook was married December 28, 
1859, to Susan J., daughter of Nathaniel H. 
and Lucy C. Cross, of Brockton. Two chil- 
dren blessed the union — Lucy Cross and 
Jennie Adams. The elder daughter, who 
had a fine^ alto voice, and sang a great deal 
in public, married T. A. Norris, of Brockton, 
and died &n December 12, 1S95. Jennie A. 
is the wife of W. Fred Allen, of Brockton. 
Mrs. Holbrook now manages the market left 
by her husband. An intelligent and capable 
lady, she has proved herself fully equal to 
the responsibilities devolving upon her. 




jDVVIN MULREADV, Chairman of the 
Board of Selectmen of Rockland, Mass., 
is one of the active business men of 
the place, engaged extensively in placing in- 
surance risks. He is a native of Rockland, 
born November 18, 1853, a son of Luke and 
Sarah (Carroll) Mulready. Luke Mulready, 
who was born in Mulligan, Ireland, came to 
this country in 1S49, and worked for some 
time at shoemaking. He died in his fifty- 
fourth year. His wife is still living in Rock- 
land. Six children were born to them — Ed- 
win, Marcella, Luke F., Maria, John, and 
Annie. 

Edwin Mulready was graduated from the 
grammar school at the age of fifteen, and then 
went to work in a shoe shop. Having a nat- 
ural bent for clerical work, after a while he 
left the factory to take a course of study at a 
commercial college; but, finding no suitable 



opening, upon the completion of his studies 
he again took up factory work. While en- 
gaged in the shoe shop he began to take insur- 
ance risks, and in 1891 he established a busi- 
ness of his own, which has had a large growth, 
and which includes fire, life, accident, and 
marine insurance. Being a man of more than 
ordinary intelligence and ability, he is now 
on the high' road to success. 

He was married in 1876 to Miss Catherine 
Kenneally, of Abington, Mass., by whom he 
has had nine children, one of whom, a little 
daughter, has passed away. The others are 
named respectively: Luke, Josephine, Paul, 
Edwin, Sadie, Joseph, Frank, and Marion. 
In political matters Mr. Mulready is inclined 
to be independent, though favoring the Demo- 
cratic side. He was elected to the Board of 
Selectmen in 1S84, and has presided as 
Chairman since 1892. A strong believer in 
total abstinence, he is an active worker for 
the temperance cause, and has been connected 
with a temperance society for a quarter of a 
century. In religious belief he is a Roman 
Catholic. 




ON. ZIBA CARY KEITH, President 
of the Plymouth County Safe Deposit 
i® ^ ^ and Trust Company, is a native res- 
ident of Brockton, where he has been for the 
last twenty years an important factor in busi- 
ness and civic affairs. Nor is his merely a 
local reputation. He has filled various re- 
sponsible positions in the service of the State. 
He was born July 13, 1842, at the homestead 
of his father, Captain Ziba Keith, on the op- 
posite side of the street to his present resi- 
dence in Campello. 

The following account of his ancestry we 
glean from the Keith Memorial volume pre- 
pared by him at the cost of great labor and ex- 
pense and published in 1889. The Keith 




ZIBA C. KEITH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



149 



family originated in Scotland. liiown's Peer- 
age makes mention of one Robert (from whom 
this family is supposed to be descended) who 
was a chieftain among the Cotti, from which 
tribe the surname of Keitii is said to be derived. 
He was at the battle of I'anbridge in 1006 
A. 1). , and slew Camus, a general of the Danes, 
for which service King Malcolm drew red 
strokes, or pates, on Robert's shield, which was 
the origin of their armorial bearings. In loio 
he was made hereditary marischal of Scotland, 
and was presented with a barony and also with 
the Island of Inchkcith in the I'"irth of Forth. 
His descendant. Sir William Keith, married 
a daughter of the Earl of Crawford, and had a 
son William, who was created Earl of Mari- 
schal before June, 145S. 

Tiie title descended lineally to William, 
third I'larl, who had two sons — Robert and 
William. Robert was slain at Flodden Field. 
William had a son William, who was the 
fourth Earl ; and he had a grandson George, 
fifth ICarl, and foimder of Mari.schal College at 
Aberdeen. He married Lord Hume's daugh- 
ter. The tenth Earl, George, was a Colonel 
in Queen Anne's Guards. His brother James 
was a Field Marshal in the service of Peter 
the Great of Russia, and later served with the 
same rank in the Prussian army. He was 
killed at Huckkirch in battle with the Aus- 
trians in 1758, and a monument was erected 
to his memory by the King of Prussia. 

The Rev. James Keith, the founder of the 
family in America, was born at Aberdeen, 
Scotland, in 1644, and came to this country in 
1662. He was introduced to the church in 
)?ridgewater, Mass., by Dr. Increase Mather, 
and was settled as its pastor on I-'ebruary iS, 
1664. The house in which he lived still 
stands in West Hridgewater. He died July 
23, 1 7 19. His first wife was Susanna, daugh- 
ter of Deacon Samuel Edson. They were mar- 



ried May 3, i66S, and had nine children; 
namely, James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, 
John, Josiah, Margaret, Mary, and Susannah. 
Mrs. Su.sanna Keith died October 16, 1705, 
aged sixty -five years. The Rev. James 
Keith's second wife was Mary, widow of 
Thomas Williams, of Tauntcjn. 

Timothy Keith, his fourth son, was born in 
1683, and became one of the first settlers of 
North Bridgewater. He died November 8, 
1767. He and his wife, Hannah, daughter of 
Deacon Edward Forbes, had four children : 
Timothy, second ; Abiah ; Nathan ; Hannah. 
Timothy" Keith, second, died in 1740, aged 
twenty-nine years. He married Bethiah, 
daughter of William Ames, June 2, 1737, and 
had two children — ^Levi and Timothy. 

Levi, the elder, born August 25, 1738, 
married Jemima, daughter of Mark Perkins, 
November 8, 1859, and had Bethiah, Timothy, 
Reuben, Benjamin, Jemima, Jemima (second), 
Molly, Levi, Molly (second), and Anna. Levi 
Keith owned a tannery at the corner of Mon- 
tello and Garfield Streets. He was a shoe 
manufacturer to some extent, being the pioneer 
of that industry here, and was a man of con- 
siderable property and influence in the town. 
He owned and occupied the house on the cor- 
ner of Main and Plain Streets, where now 
stands the mansion of Mr. Ziba C. Keith. 
He died in 181 3. 

Benjamin Keith, born in 1763, third son of 
Levi, was principally a farmer, and owned an 
extensive tract of land on Main Street, though 
he-also made shoes and operated his father's 
tannery. He married Martha, daughter of 
Colonel Simeon Cary, December 18, 17SS, 
and had seven children; namely, Ziba, Arza, 
Bela, Charles, Polly, Ja.son, and Benjamin. 
Mr. Benjamin Keith died September 9, 1814. 
His wife died June 10, 1S52, at the age of 
eighty-six years. 



•s° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Ziba Keith, son of Benjamin and Martha 
(Gary) Keith, was born November 30, 1789, at 
the old homestead on Main Street. He was a 
shoemaker in early life, and carried on this 
business in the "Old Red Shop " of his ances- 
tors. He taught his sons shoemaking also. 
May 29, 18 16, he was commissioned by Gov- 
ernor Brooks, Ensign of a Gompany in the 
Third Regiment of Infantry; and December 5, 
1822, was promoted to be Captain, which title 
he retained through life. An upright and just 
man in all his dealings, and a kind neighbor, 
he was much respected. He married Novem- 
ber 25, 1813, Sally Gary, daughter of Jonathan 
Gary, and by this union had nine children : 
Benjamin; Franklin; Martha G. ; Martin, who 
died in infancy; Martin L. ; Nancy, who died 
young; David and Jonathan (twins), the former 
of whom died in infancy; and Levi W. Mrs. 
Sally G. Keith died September 26, 1832, and 
Gaptain Ziba Keith married March 13, 1834, 
Polly, daughter of Daniel Noyes, of Abington. 
By his second wife he had three sons — Daniel 
N., Edwin, and Ziba Gary. The father died 
September 28, 1862, and the mother June 14, 
1882. 

Ziba Gary Keith, early learning that his 
success in life must depend largely upon his 
own exertions, applied himself betimes to the 
work before him. His industrial training 
began as soon as he was able to wield a ham- 
mer and drive pegs in the "Old Red Shop" 
and use a rake in the hay field. Meantime he 
diligently improved his opportunities for ob- 
taining an education in the district schools and 
at Pierce Academy. At eighteen years of age 
he went to work in the shoe manufactory of his 
brothers, Martin L. Keith & Go., then doing 
a large business. He was afterward book- 
keeper for them in Boston until July, 1863, 
when he returned to Gampello and started in 
business with Embert Howard, under the firm 



name of Howard & Keith. They coiuhicted 
a dry-goods and variety store for two years and 
then sold out to Jonas Reynold. Six months 
later Mr. Keith bought the business, which, 
with the exception of the dry-goods depart- 
ment, for some time controlled by H. P. Hub- 
bard, he carried on alone till 1882, when he 
disposed of the entire interests to Pitts & Hay- 
ward and Thayer & Whitman. 

In 1875 and 1876 Mr. Keith served as Rep- 
resentative to the General Gourt. In 1879 he 
was one of the Selectmen of the town. In 
1 88 1 he was a member of the Gommittee for 
drafting the city charter, and when Brockton 
was made a city, in 1881, he was elected the 
first Mayor, being re-elected in 1883, 1884, 
1891, 1892, and 1893. He was State Senator 
from the Second Plymouth Senatorial District 
in 1887 and in 1888, and was Tax Collector 
in 1887-89. He was largely instrumental in 
organizing the Gampello Go-operative Bank, 
which has been of great service in building 
the southerly wards of the city and stimulating 
the workmen in the many large factories to 
own their own homes. He was also Director 
and first Vice-President of the Brockton Sav- 
ings Bank, Director of the Brockton National 
Bank, and one of the incorporators of the Plym- 
outh Gounty Safe Deposit and Trust Gom- 
pany, of which he is President. In January, 
1890, he was appointed by Governor Ames on 
the State Commission of Health, Lunacy and 
Charity. He was elected in the fall of 1892 
a member of the Governor's Council, which 
office he held to 1896. 

He has ever had the interests of Gampello 
in mind, and has done much to promote the 
growth and prosperity of the place. He was a 
member of the Parish Gommittee several years, 
and when the society remodelled and enlarged 
their church in 1888 he was one of the Build- 
ing Gommittee. He is prominently identified 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•S" 



will) the Coinmaiulciy, Chapter, and Lodge of 
the local Masons. In politics he is a stanch 
Republican, and in religion connected with 
the South Congregational Church of Canipello. 
Mr. Keith was a corporate member of the 
original street railwa\- corporation in IJrockton, 
and Treasurer of same for several years, and is 
now Treasurer of the Monarch Rubber Com- 
pany at Campello. Wherever he has .served it 
has been to the satisfaction of the great mass 
of citizens and thus with honor to himself. 
Duiing the ma}'oralt\- of Mi'. Keith was inaug- 
urated the system of sewerage for the city of 
Hrockton which has recently been completed. 
Then also was brought about the building of 
the elegant new City Mall, and b\- the city in 
conjunction with the Old Colony Division of 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Rail- 
way, the abolishment of si.xteen grade crossings. 

It is a well-known fact that much of the 
early prosperity of Brockton was due to his 
able and energetic administration of its 
affairs and bis wide knowledge of men and 
business, added to a courteous personality, 
which has endeared him to the hearts of his 
fellow-citizens. Mr. Bradford Kingman in 
his "History of Brockton," says, "He is a 
person as universally beloved and esteemed as 
any one whom it is our pleasure to know." 
An\- one meeting him to know him could not 
but be impressed with his sterling integrity of 
character, while admiring his frankness and 
kindly bearing toward every person irresjaec- 
tive of nationalit}' or. station. He has a fine 
ear and a cultivated talent for music, and for 
forty years he was organist in the South 
Church. 

Mr. Keith married on December 3, 1865, 
Abi)ie Frances Jackson, who was born October 
21, 1.S48, daughter of Oliver and Malvina 
I'" ranees Packard Jackson, of North Bridge- 
water, now Brockton. They have one son, 



Willie Clifton Keith. He was born August 
31, 1866, married Eva M. Place, April 28, 
1887, and has one son — Ziba Cary Keith, Jr., 
who was born June 13, 1888. 




lll-:ODORl'; T. VAUGHN, tl.L pt..- 
prictor of a saw-mill in Centre Carver, 
was born here, July 23, 1857, son of 
Thomas Vaughn, a farmer, who was also a 
native of the town. He grew to manhood on 
the home farm, having more than the usual 
advantages enjoyed by a country lad. After 
attending the district schools in his boyhood, 
he became a pupil of the Middleboro Acad- 
emy when he was nineteen years old. After- 
ward he spent a term in the Eastman Busi- 
ness College of New York. 

After leaving college he and his brother, 
James A. Vaughn, engaged in the nursery 
business, and carried it on for about five years. 
At the expiration of that time he withdrew 
from it, and assumed charge of a steam saw- 
mill in Centre Carver, which he still o|; cr- 
ates. In this venture he has been quite 
successful. The mill is principally engaged 
in the manufacture of box boards. Mr. 
Vaughn has also been successful in raising 
cranberries for the city markets. On Septem- 
ber 15, 1878, he was married to Miss Eliza- 
beth Leach, daughter of Ezra H. and Nancy 
W. Leach, of Plymouth. Their three chil- 
dren are: Lillian M., born December 28, 
1879; Bertha I-"., born June 24, 1S85; and 
Herbert J., born March 25, 1887. In politics 
Mr. Vaughn acts independently of party, and 
takes a deep interest in the labor question. 
He has served in the offices of Overseer of the 
Poor and Assessor, and he was Selectman for 
seven years. He is a member of the Order of 
United Workmen. Both he and his family 
attend the Baptist church. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




^APTvMN JUDA^ HATHAWAY, of 

Rochester, now jprosperously engaged 
in farming and the manufacture of 
lumber, after spending many years in seafar- 
ing, was born in Wareliiam, Mass., March lo, 
1832, son of Judah arid Bethia Hathaway. 
His father having died when he was two years 
old, as soon as he was able to be of service 
he went to work on a farm. He received very 
little schooling, but his natural intelligence 
has since adequately made up for that loss. 
After working as a farm hand until he was 
seventeen years old, he shipped before the 
mast on a New Bedford whaling-vessel, under 
the command of Captain Alden Besse. In his 
first voyage, which was a long one, lasting 
three years and a half, he went to the whaling- 
grounds of the Atlantic and Pacific. Before 
the end of his second voyage, which was made 
on a schooner from Marion, he had taken rank 
as an able seaman, and was promoted to the 
position of second mate. After that he made 
several whaling voyages, and at the age of 
thirty-three became master of a vessel. Dur- 
ing the war he was mate of the brig "Alta- 
hama," which was seized by the famous Con- 
federate privateer, the "Alabama." The brig 
was burned, and the crew were carried by the 
"Alabama" to one of the Azores, from which, 
after remaining a week, they were sent home. 

Captain Hathaway owned shares in a num- 
ber of the vessels which he sailed, and had an 
interest in several when he retired from the 
sea in 1869. In that year he settled in his 
present home, which hks been his abode for 
nearly thirty years. He owns one thousand 
acres of land and two mills. In the mills he 
manufactures long lumber and shingles. 

Captain Hathaway was married in i860 to 
Miss Ellen L. Lewis, of Rochester, Mass. 
He has five children — Mary L. , Elizabeth T., 
David L. K., Ellen A., and Hattie F. In 



politics he favors the Republican side, and 
was in the State legislature in 1869. Work- 
ing his way from the panniless condition of a 
fatherless boy, he has wjell earned the ease and 
affluence he now enjoys 




ERBERT L. TINKHAM, Treasurer 
of the W. L. Douglas Shoe Com- 
pany, is one of the capable and pro- 
gressive young business men of the city of 
Brockton, Mass. A son of Charles C. and 
Abigail (Ashley) Tinkham, he was born 
March 13, 1869, in Middleboro, Mass., and is 
a representative of one of the old families of 
that vicinity. 

A Seth Tinkham served in the French and 
Indian War. John Tinkham, Mr. Herbert L. 
Tinkham 's great-grandfather, who was a 
farmer, was a lifelong resident of Middleboro, 
and a Deacon of the first church there. His 
son Josiah, the next in this line, was also a 
farmer of Middleboro. He was a man of 
character and ability, commonly called Cap- 
tain Tinkham, as he was an officer in the 
Plymouth militia; and he was elected to the 
State Senate on the Democratic ticket. He 
lived to an advanced age. P"ive children 
grew up in the home of Captain Tinkham, 
only one of whom, Charles C, is living 
to-day. 

Charles C. Tinkham was born and educated 
in Middleboro, and for thirty years has been 
in business in that place as a contractor. He 
is now sixty-two years of age. His wife, who 
also is living, is a daughter of Noah Ashley, 
of Lakeville, Plymouth County, Mass. They 
have reared two children — Herbert L. and 
Amelia C. The daughter is with her parents 
in Middleboro. 

Herbert L. Tinkham attended the common 
schools of his native place, and also the Eaton 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•S3 



ConinKTciul School, wlicre he learned book- 
keepinsi;. His first position after leaving 
school was as book-keeper for Mitchell, I*"ales 
& Co., a shoe firm of Campello, with whom he 
remained two years. In 1889 he was engaged 
as book-keeper in tiie W. L. Douglas factory, 
which position he filled for three years; and 
in 1893 he was elected to his present position 
of Treasurer of the well-known W. L. Douglas 
Shoe Company. The business has increased 
rajiitlly during the past five or si.x years. The 
position is a responsible one, recpiiring gen- 
eral financial ability, with sound judgment 
anil thoroughness in matters of detail. Mr. 
Tinkham is regarded as one of the leadintr 
business men of Brockton, though not yet 
thirty years okl. In 1896 he was elected a 
Director of the Hrockton, Bridgewater & 
Taunton Street Railroad. 

He was married April 24, 1894, to Alice 
A., eldest daughter of W. L. Douglas. Mrs. 
Tinkham died December 30, 1895, aged 
twenty-si.\ years. Mr. Tinkham is a member 
of I'aul Revere Lodge, A. V. & A. M. ; Sa- 
tuckct Royal Arch Chapter; Harmony Lodge, 
No. 27, Knights of Pythias; and the Commer- 
cial Club of this city. He is also a member 
of thj Universalist church of Brockton. 



bpRKDERICK G. BRACKETT, an en- 
P' , terprising wood and lumber dealer of 
Kingston, Mass., was born in Exeter, 
N.H., September 20, 1S54, son of George W. 
and Bathsheba (Eldridge) Brackett. His 
grandfather, William Brackett, was a native 
of New England. George VV. Brackett, who 
was a native of New Hampshire, for many 
years conducted a store in Colebrook, that 
State. He subsequently moved from that 
town to Everett, Mass., where he continued in 
mercantile business for the rest of his life. 



He died in iScS4. His wife, Bathsheba, was 
also a native of New Hampshire. 

Frederick G. Brackett began his education 
in the common schools of Colebrook, and then 
attended the academy at Eryeburg, Me., from 
which he was graduated in 1872. At an early 
age he was accustomed to assist his father in 
the store. When eighteen years old he went 
to Newton, Mass., where he was employed by 
the Hon. C. P. Hoogs, with whom he re- 
mained until Mr. Hoogs's death in 1877, 
when he came to Kingston, and purchased a 
farm here. After following agricultural \n\r- 
suits for a few years, he engaged in his 
present business, conducting a saw-mill, and 
dealing in lumber and wood, and he now has a 
large and growing trade. 

In 1872 Mr. Brackett was united in mar- 
riage to Cora E. Merrill, a native of Level], 
Me., and a daughter of Albert Merrill. 

In politics Mr. Brackett acts with the Re- 
publican party, and is now in his second year 
of service as a Road Commissioner. He is an 
able and energetic business man, and a pro- 
gressive citizen, taking an active interest in 
all public improvements. Since settling in 
Kingston, he has gained the good will and 
esteem of the townspeople, and is very pojiular 
in social circles. He is a member of Adams 
Lodge, Independent Order of OiUl {'"ellows of 
this town. 




URGESS P. TI:RRV, a well-known 
machinist of Plymouth, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born in ICxeter, 
Washington County, R.I., August i. 1816, a 
son of Moses and Sarah Terry. He was 
reared on the home farm; and at the age of 
nineteen years he began to learn the machin- 
ist's trade in P.uvtucket. R. I. After a period 
of five years he removed to Newton Upper 
Falls, Mass.; and thence in 1855 he came to 



■54 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



I'lymouth, where he resided uninterruptedly 
until 1 886. I*"or twenty-three years he acted 
as the repairer for the Old Colony Duck 
Mills, located at Chiltonville; and for a 
period of six years he was employed in a like 
capacity in the Russell Mills at Plymouth. 
Since 1886 he has lived at Chiltonville, and 
has been principally occuj)ied with the care of 
a garden. In 1839 Mr. Terry married Miss 
Naomi Doten, a native of Plymouth, where 
she was born to Mr. and Mrs. Prince Doten 
on January 14, 1821. Mr. and Mrs. Terry are 
the parents of eight children: namely, Lucy 
M., Sarah R., N. Augusta, Lorenzo B., 
Almon B., Viola V., Arthur L., and Ella D. 
Mr. Terry's political principles bring him 
into fellowship with the Democratic party. 
In religious faith he is a Universalist. Mr. 
Terry has achieved a goodly degree of success 
in his industrial career, and he is now the 
possessor of a considerable amount of property 
in Plymouth. He has attained to a venerable 
age, and it is hoped that the passing of many 
more milestones of life is yet in store for 
h i m . 




■BEL WASHBURN KINGMAN, M.D., 
was for many years the leading physi- 
cian of Brockton; and his death, 
which occurretl in 18S3, was the cause of uni- 
versal sorrow. He was born April 22, 1806, 
on Pine Street, in the eastern part of the city, 
which was then a portion of old Bridgewater. 
His parents were the Hon. Abel and Lucy 
(Washburn) Kingman. The Kingman family, 
founded by Henry Kingman, who settled in 
Weymouth, Mass., in 1636, has for many 
years occupied a prominent position in this 
part of Plymouth County. The Hon. Abel 
Kingman, who was the owner of large estates, 
was a man of ability. Representative to the 
General Court, State Senator, and a leader 



among his contemporaries. He and his wife 
had a family of fifteen children. 

Abel Washburn, who was the seventh child, 
attended the schools of his native town, also 
the Bridgewater State Normal School, and 
was graduated from Amherst College at the 
age of twenty-four. As soon as his profes- 
sional training was finished, he began to prac- 
tise at Dartmouth, Mass., and subsequently 
settled permanently in North Bridgewater, 
now Brockton. A skilful and successful phy- 
sician, he was kind-hearted and was conscien- 
tious in the discharge of his duties; and he 
won the love and respect of all who knew him 
best. For some time he was by many years 
the senior physician in the town. About 
twelve years prior to his death, a nervous 
trouble with which he was afflicted deprived 
him of sight, and he was obliged to retire 
from practice and from active participation in 
town and church matters, in which he had 
always been interested. In politics. Dr. 
Kingman in his early manhood was a Demo- 
crat. He was in ofifice only once, serving as 
Postmaster of Brockton, under Presidents Bu- 
chanan and Pierce. Being a man filled with 
patriotism, during the war he became a Re- 
publican, and was an ardent admirer of Presi- 
dent Lincoln. He belonged to no social 
organizations, not approving of secret orders. 
He died May 4, 1883, a few days after his 
seventy-seventh birthday. 

Dr. Kingman was twice married. His first 
wife, formerly Miss Clarissa Alden, was a 
daughter of Williams Alden, who was a lineal 
descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, and 
also of Richard Williams, one of the founders 
of Taunton, Mass., and a cousin of Oliver 
Cromwell. His second wife, to whom he was 
united in i860, was Olive Tucker, daughter of 
Deacon Daniel Alden, of Randolph, Mass. 
Her father, who was a carpenter by trade, and 




ABEL W. KINGMAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



"57 



was a contractor and builder, was a lineal de- 
scendant of John Alden. He was Senior Dea- 
con in the Baptist church of Randolph. 
Through her grandmother, Mrs. Kingman was 
related to the Cary family. The Doctor left 
tlirec sons, who attained prominence as dry- 
goods merchants in Boston and New York. 
They are: A. Willard, residing in New York; 
Thomas S., who has retired from business, is 
living in Orange, N.J. ; and Barton E., who 
is in business in New York City, and has a 
residence on the Hudson at Yonkers. Three 
children of Dr. Alden died in infancy; and 
one, a daughter, Clara Clifford, married Cap- 
tain Alexander Whelden, of Dartmouth, 
Mass., and died 1882. 



WINSLOW DREW, who died on De- 
cember 7, 1S82, at his home in 
•Plymouth, Mass., where he was a 
highly respected resident, was born in this 
town, December 17, 1809, son of William 
and I'riscilla (Washburn) Drew. This branch 
of the Drew family, which is of English 
stock, was founded by John Drew, w-ho came 
to Plymouth about forty years after the land- 
ing of the Pilgrims. Eemuel Drew, the 
father of William Drew, was a native and life- 
long resident of Plymouth, and was prominent 
in the old church here, of which he was a Dea- 
con for many years. On the maternal side, 
the late Mr. Winslow Drew was a descendant 
of Captain Miles Standish. 

William Drew, Mr. Drew's father, was 
born in Plymouth, and became a prominent 
builder of his day. He erected many substan- 
tial buildings here, including the residences 
of Mrs. William Stoddard, and Mrs. Sue 
Davis on Court Street, which attest his thor- 
ough manner in completing his work. He 
conducted a very prosperous business under 



his personal supervision u]) to the time of his 
death, which took place when he was between 
sixty and seventy years old. He married 
Priscilla Washburn, a native of King.ston, 
Mass., and she became the mother of the fol- 
lowing children: Priscilla Washburn; Will- 
iam Thomas; Winslow, the subject of this 
sketch; • Betsey ; Matilda; Theodore; Rufus 
Washburn; Maria Chilton; and George 
Prince. Of these the only ones now living 
are: Betsey, who is the widow of Thomas 
Allen, and resides in Boston; and Maria, 
who is the widow of Loten Jennings, and 
resides in New Orleans, La. 

Winslow Drew was educated in the common 
schools, and after finishing his studies he 
learned the carpenter's trade. He was asso- 
ciated with his father in business for some 
years, later going into partnership with his 
brother, William T. Drew, with whom he car- 
ried on a very successful business. Among 
the buildings which were erected under his 
direction is the residence of Marston Watson, 
the house on the corner of Vernon and Court 
Streets, which is now occupied by Mr. Ripley; 
the residence of Mrs. Warren on Chilton 
Street; and the house where his daughter now 
resides. His last days of activity were spent 
mostly in the work of finishing; and he died 
at the age of seventy-three years, lacking ten 
days. In politics he was originally a Whig, 
later joining the Republican party. He 
joined Plymouth Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
about the year 1858, and he advanced in ALa- 
sonry to the Royal Arch degree, being a char- 
ter member of Samoset Chapter. In his 
religious views he was a Unitarian. 

On March 2, 1833, Mr. Winslow Drew was 
united in marriage with Abby Winslow Till- 
son, of Plymouth, who survived him several 
years. She was a daughter of Hamblin and 
Susan (Bradford) Tillson, the former a native 



»ss 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of Carver, Mass., and the latter of Plyinpton, 
Mass., and on her mother's side a direct de- 
scendant in the seventh generation of Gover- 
nor Bradford. Hamblin and Susan (Bradford) 
Tillson were the parents of two sons and 
seven daughters, of whom Mrs. Drew was the 
last survivor. The others were: Henry, 
Susan l^radford, Ann Hamblin, Rebecca Fos- 
ter, Mary Williams, Henry Hamblin, Maria, 
and one who died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Winslow Drew reared three 
children, as follows: Augusta Winslow, who 
on October 19, 1853, married William F. 
Spinney, of Lynn, Mass., and died November 
22, 1S64, aged thirty-one years; Edward Wins- 
low, a carpenter by trade, who on P'ebruary 
17, 1870, married Betsey C. Holmes, of Cam- 
bridge, Mass., and died January 6, 1884, aged 
forty-eight years; and Emma F., a graduate 
of the Plymouth High School, who resides at 
the homestead in Plymouth, where she was 
born. Abby Winslow, widow of Winslow 
Drew, died December 9, 1896. Although 
nearly eighty-eight years of age she retained 
perfect control of her faculties, her eyesight, 
hearing, a-nd memory being exceptionally 
good, even to the last hour of her long life. 
-She was amiable and cheerful in disposition, 
a devoted wife and mother, and was beloved 
by all who knew her. 



nr>v AVID DELANO, a respected resi- 
I I dent of Kingston, member of the 
^-^K^;^ Board of Selectmen, was born in 
Duxbury, November 30, 1827, son of Hosea 
and Hannah (Brewster) Delano. Mr. Del- 
ano's paternal ancestors were of French 
origin, and his mother was a descendant of 
Elder Brewster, the "Mayflower" Pilgrim. 
Oliver Delano, Mr. Delano's grandfather, 
served under General Washington, in the Rev- 



olutionary War, and was present at the sur- 
render of General Burgoyne. 

Hosea Delano was a native and lifelong res- 
ident of Du.xbury, and during his active period 
he followed the trade of a carpenter. He was 
known and respected as a worthy, upright 
man, and a useful citizen. He was a Whig 
in politics. He died in 1844. O^ his chil- 
dren, the following survive: Deborah, wife 
of Lewis M. Bailey, of Duxbury; David, the 
subject of this sketch ; Frederick, a resident 
of Marshfield; and Charles, who resides in 
Kingston. 

David Delano was reared and educated in 
Duxbury. At the age of twenty he began to 
learn the carpenter's trade. l-"inishing his 
apprenticeship he worked as a journeyman for 
nearly forty years, or until 1886, and for many 
years past he has been a resident of Kingston. 
In 1885 he was elected a member of the Board 
of Selectmen, on which he has since served 
with the exception of a period of three years; 
and he has been Road Commissioner for six 
years. In politics he is a Republican. 

Mr. Delano has been twice married. For 
his first wife he wedded Sylvia Chandler, who 
became the mother of three children, two of 
whom are living, namely: David H., who re- 
sides in Kingston; and Lucy, wife of Claude 
M. Chandler, of this town. His present wife 
was before marriage Martha Delano, of Dux- 
bury. Of this union there were born five 
children, of whom two are living: M. Parker, 
who is a resident of Kingston ; and Walter E., 
of Elmwood, Mass. In matters relating to 
the general welfare and improvement of 
the town, Mr. Delano has always evinced a 
dee]) interest. His ability and sound judg- 
ment in the transaction of public business 
have gained for him the sincere respect and 
esteem of his fellow-townsmen. He is a 
member of the Second Congregational Society. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'59 




i 



iHARI.IlS ICVERKTT DOUGLAS, 
|)iopiictor of an extensive bakery in 
Plynioutii, was born in this town, 
Jiiiie 28, 1855, son of Nathan and Angeline 
('riireslicr) Douglas. His ancestors for sev- 
eral generations have resided in riymouth 
County. The family traces its origin to the 
Scotch Douglases, who were Lords of Doug- 
las, and claimed a lineage extending back to 
A.i). 770. I'rom that time, down to the 
union with Kngland, representatives of the 
latter faniil)' figured conspicuously in the his- 
tory of Scotland. They were among the chief 
supporters of Robert Bruce, and later took 
part in the various wars with England, and they 
fought in the famous Battle of I'^lodden Field. 
The Douglases were eleven times united by 
marriage to the Royal I'amily of Scotland, 
and once with that of I-'ngland. Their many 
deeds of chivalry have been the foundation of 
\arious prose and poetical romances, including 
the celebrated poems of Sir Walter Scott, 
entitled "Tlie Lady of the Lake," and "Mar- 
niiiin." 

John Douglas, the founiler of the Douglas 
family in America, who was born in Scotland 
in 1695, settletl in Middleboro, Mass., in 
1719, and married luinice Ratcliffe, of that 
town. Josejih Douglas, a descendant of John, 
hoin in North Yarmouth, followed the occupa- 
tion of a farmer, and entered the Society of 
I'riends. A succeeding John Douglas, prob- 
ably the great-grandfather of Charles E. , was 
iiorn in Middleboro, and served in the Revolu- 
tionary War as an Orderly Sergeant. He 
was paid off in Continental currency, the 
value of which may be inferred from the fact 
that Sergeant Douglas was obliged to pay 
sixty dollars of it for a gallon of molasses, 
and a huntlred dollars for a pound of tea. 
Joshua Douglas, the grandfather of Charles E., 
was engaged in agricultural i)ursuits at Half- 



way I'ond during the active period of his life, 
and died in this town. He reared a family of 
eight children, of whom Nathan was the fifth 
born. Having grown up on his father's farm, 
Nathan Douglas in early manhood began to 
work in a saw-mill at Half-way I'ond, where 
he was afterward employed for many years. 
In tiie latter part of his life he was night 
watchman at the mill. He enjoyed the 
esteem and good will of his neighbors, and he 
died in Plymouth, at the age of sixty-five 
years. His wife, Angeline, who was a daugh- 
ter of Jonathan Thresher, of this town, bore 
him four children — Nathan W., Charles E., 
Henry Lewis, and lilmer Edwards. 

Charles Everett Douglas grew to manhood 
in IMymouth, obtaining his education in the 
common schools. Owing to impaired sight, 
he was obliged to relinquish his studies at an 
early age. When a young man he entered the 
general store of George Bramhall at Chilton- 
ville as a clerk, and remained there for two 
years. In 187S he became connected with 
the bakery business, driving a team for Mr. 
Phinney for some time. At a later date he 
engaged in the same business for himself. 
Beginning in a small way, he gradually ad- 
vanced until his enterprise developed into its 
present flourishing condition. He now has an 
oven covering an area of one hundred square 
feet, employs eight hands, runs two teams, 
and delivers bread and pastry over a large 
circuit. 

On November 7, 1878, Mr. Douglas wedded 
Mercy B. Ilolbrook, a daughter of Gideon and 
Victorine (Simmons) Holbrook, both of whom 
are natives of Plymouth. After following the 
trade of a coojier in this town for many years, 
Gideon Holbrook became a fish ])acker, and he 
is now living in retirement at the homo of his 
.son, having reached the age of seventy-seven. 
He has been a Deacon of the liaptist church 



i6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for nearly fifty years. His wife, Victorine, 
wiiose father was a sea captain, is descended 
from one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. She 
became the mother of seven children. Mr. 
and Mrs. Douglas have one son, Charles 
Everett, born April 23, 1880. Mr. Douglas 
takes an active interest in all matters relative 
to the general welfare of the town, and is re- 
garded as one of its most energetic residents. 
He is connected with the Plymouth Mutual 
Benefit Association, and is a member of Plym- 
outh Rock Lodge, No. 84, A. O. Y. W. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Douglas are active mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. 




LIVER COBB is a well-known busi- 
ness man of Marion. He was born 
on the farm where he now lives Feb- 
ruary 18, 1828. His parents, the Rev. Oliver 
and Hannah (Burgess) Cobb, reared four chil- 
dren, two sons and two daughters. At the age 
of fifteen Oliver went to sea, and in the ensu- 
ing two years visited many of the Atlantic 
ports, and made one voyage to Europe. At 
seventeen he went to Taunton, where he 
served an apprenticeship to the carpenter's 
trade. In 1849 he joined a band of gold seek- 
ers, who, starting from New York City, went 
by way of the Isthmus to California, taking 
six months to reach their destination. Land- 
ing at San Diego, he remained there a short 
time. Then he proceeded to San P'rancisco, 
where he worked at his. trade for three months. 
Going then to Mokelumne River, in the cen- 
tral part of the State, he was engaged in min- 
ing for four months. Returning to San 
P^rancisco, he formed a copartnership with a 
supposed friend, and, building a store, was 
'engaged in mercantile pursuits for six months. 
At the end of that time he returned to the 
mines for a four months' stay. On his return 



he found that his partner had sold the store 
and "skipped" the country, taking with him 
all the available funds. Mr. Cobb resumed 
mining, and met with fair success during the 
next two years. He then came East, arriving 
in Marion in May, 1853. 

After his marriage Mr. Cobb again went to 
the Pacific Coast, and was engaged at the 
mines for nearly a year and a half. On his 
return to Marion he invested his hard-earned 
money in his present farm, the homestead on 
which he was born and reared. In 1S57 he 
made a third trip to California, where he spent 
six months in disposing of property which he 
had acquired there. He then went to Kansas, 
intending to make that his future home, but 
came to the conclusion that Massachusetts was 
good enough. In 1862 he enlisted in defence 
of the Union, joining as a private Company I, 
Thirty-third Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- 
try, being mustered into service in Lynnfield. 
He subsequently participated in the battles of 
Chancellorsville, Beverly I'ord, and Gettys- 
burg. After the latter engagement Mr. Cobb 
had a severe attack of pneumonia, which ne- 
cessitated his being sent to P>ederick City 
Hospital, where he remained three months. 
From there he was sent to Baltimore, where 
he was honorably discharged in 1864. Except 
when prevented by ill health, he has since been 
industriously employed in agricultural pur- 
suits, having a well-kept farm of thirty acres. 

In 1853 Mr. Cobb married Lucy P211is, by 
whom he is now the father of three children — 
Oliver, George, and Albert. He affiliates 
with the Republican party, and for seven years 
served as a member of the School Committee 
in Marion. He is an active member of the 
Congregational Church, in which he has served 
as Deacon for eight years ; and he is a member 
of William Logan Post, No. i, Grand Army 
of the Republic, of New Bedford. 



bioc;rai'1iical rkview 



i6i 




TAN'I.OR HARRINGTON, propri- 
etor of tlic Oregon House, a popular 
lidtcl in Hull, much patronized by 
summer <;uesis, was huiii October 14, 1849, 
under the roof of tiie old Tear! Street House, 
corner of I'earl and Milk Streets, Boston, son 
of Aiiel and So[)hia Lyman (Scates) Harring- 
ton. \lc was named after President Zachary 
Tayhu", who had been recently inaugurated. 
His twin brother, who died at the age of five 
vears anil six months, was named after the 
American Commander in the Me.xican War, 
Winfield Scott. 

The Harringtons are of English stock and 
have been residents of the old Bay State for 
over two liundred and fifty years. The immi- 
grant progenitor of this branch of the family 
was Robert Harrington born in 16 16, who was 
a landed proprietor in Watertown, Mass., as 
early as 1642, was made a freeman in 1663, 
and died in 1707. The stone that marks his 
grave in Mount Auburn Cemetery is still in a 
good state of preservation. Beside it is that 
of his wife, Susanna George Harrington, who 
was born in 1632, and who was the mother of 
thirteen children. Thomas, the ninth child, 
horn April 20, 1665, was made a freeman 
April 18, i6go, and died March 29, 1712. 
On April i, 1686, he married Rebecca, the 
widow of John White, and a daughter of John 
Bemis. Their son George, born August 31, 
1695, married in 1715, Hepzibah Fiske, who 
died in 1736, having had thirteen children. 
Tile ninth child, John, was tliene.xt in the line 
of descent. Born December 14, 17 19, he 
married November 13, 1740, Sarah Barnard, of 
Waltham, Mass., who had eight children. 
The fifth of these children, Abraham, born in 
1750, on November 5, 1776, married Annie 
Russell, of Kramingham, Mass., who bore him 
eleven children. 

Luther Harrington, a son of Abraham, and 



grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was 
born in Weston, Mass., in 1787, and spent his 
life as a farmer in that town. He was a Dem- 
ocrat, took a prominent part in public affairs, 
and held the ofTice of Deputy Sheriff of Mid- 
dlese.x County for many years. He married 
Achsah Vilas, of Waltham, who had by him 
ten children, three of whom are living. 
These are: Luther Harrington, Jr., who mar- 
ried Emily Hagar, of Weston, NLiss., antl has 
two children — Eliza and Edith; John O. A., 
who married Abigail Jones, of Weston, and 
has four children ^ — Boutwell, Mabel, Luther, 
and Sophia; and Charlotte Eiske Harrington, 
a widow. The father died July 13, 1850, the 
mother on September 15, 1855. Abel Har- 
rington, born in Weston, August 19, 1815, 
was educated in the public schools of his 
native town. In his early manhood, for about 
four years, he was employed in the old I'earl 
Street House, corner of I'earl and Milk 
Streets, Boston. l-'rom there he went to 
Newton, Mass., where he was engaged in 
hotel-keeping for about twenty years. His 
next and last removal was to Hull, where he 
was the proprietor and manager of the Oregon 
House. His death occurred on March 9, 
1885. He was a Democrat in pcditics. (^n 
July 7, 1842, he married So[)hia Lyman, 
daughter of Benjamin and Lovey (Lyman) 
Scates, of Milton, N.II. Three of their sL;ven 
children are living, namely: Zachary Taylor, 
the subject of this sketch; Edmund Jackson, 
born July 10, 1857; and Lena S., born Janu- 
ary 3, 1862. The mother, Mrs. Sojjhia L. 
Harrington, is now a resident of Hull. A 
Unitarian in religious faith, she was a member 
of the church in Newton, Mass. 

After leaving school, Z. Taylor Harrington 
worked for his father until the breaking out 
of the Southern Rebellion, when he found 
employment in the Arsenal at Watertown. 



l62 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



After spending two years there, he worked for 
one year in the United States Hotel in Bos- 
ton, and for one year in his father's employ- 
ment at Newton. In 1868, the following 
year, he and his elder brother engaged in the 
hotel business in Brighton, and thereafter con- 
ducted the Cattle Fair Hotel for five years. 
Then, in 1876, he removed to Hull, and took 
charge of the Oregon House, which he has 
since conducted. He has practically rebuilt 
the hotel, besides making many improvements. 
Back of the hotel he has a fine residence, 
erected in 1888, which commands a delightful 
ocean view. Mr. Harrington was married 
April 30, 1872, to Miss Jessie Sanderson, 
daughter of Charles W. and Helen B. 
(Fletcher) Sanderson, of Brighton, Mass. 
They have si.x children, as follows, namely: 
Sidney Scott Harrington, born February 15, 
1873, who on August 12, 1896, married Flor- 
ence Leslie, of Roxbury, Mass.; Florence, 
born July 31, 1874; Fanny Scates, born 
October i, 1875; Marion Leslie, born No- 
vember 4, 1S77; Jessie L., born October 13, 
1879; and Ruth A., born September 18, 
1889. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harrington hold liberal views 
on the subject of religion. In politics Mr. 
Harrington is a stanch Republican. He has 
held for fifteen years the position of Moderator 
at the town meetings of Hull, a striking mark 
of the confidence of his fellow-citizens in his 
ability and fairness. In 1889 he represented 
the town in the State legislature. He is a 
member of Nonantum Lodge, No. 116, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Brighton, 
Mass. It is worthy of note that the first man 
killed in the Battle of Lexington, April 19, 
1775, was Daniel Harrington, whose name is 
on the monument ; and the last man from 
Massachusetts to die in that war was also a 
Harrington. 



rRY T. ANGLIM, an enterprising 
,nd successful insurance man and 
real estate broker of Brockton, 
Mass., was born in Braintree, this State, June 
28, i860, a son of Patrick B. and Margaret 
(McNamara) Anglim. Patrick B. Anglim, 
who was a shoe cutter, and followed his trade 
most of his life, worked many years in Brock- 
ton, where he died November 29, 1896, aged 
sixty-seven years. He had a family of eight 
children, six sons and two daughters, and lost 
but one, the eldest. 

Henry T. Anglim, the third child, was 
graduated from the Braintree High School in 
1877. He began his business life in the office 
of Frank Dupee, wool broker, on Federal 
Street, Boston, where he remained three 
months, next obtaining a position as office boy 
for Faxon, Elms & Co., 115 High Street, 
Boston, the well-known importers and dealers 
in shoe manufacturers' goods. He was with 
this firm four years, rising to the position of 
salesman. In the last year one of the junior 
partners, Mr. A. J. Foster, now of A. J. 
P'oster & Co., loi Bedford Street, Boston, 
withdrew to establish a business of his own as 
a dealer in leather and findings, and Mr. 
Anglim went with him. After being with 
Mr. Foster some four years, drumming the 
shoe trade in Brockton and the surrounding 
towns, in 18S4 he became book-keeper for 
Charles V. Porter & Co., of Brockton. This 
firm disposed of their business four years 
later, and during the ensuing year Mr. Ang- 
lim was employed as floor manager in the 
Boston store, Edgar & Reynolds, proprietors, 
Brockton. His next engagement was in the 
employ of I. K. Snell, and he was subse- 
quently engaged as book-keeper for Stacy, 
Adams & Co., of Boston, and as salesman for 
J. E. Peckman & Co., of the same city. 

In 1890 he started in the insurance business 




HENRY T. ANGLIM. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



.65 



in Brockton as special agent for tiic Provident 
Savings Life Assurance Society of New York, 
and was later connected with the office of 
K. W. Sargent, who also was in the insurance 
lousiness. In October, 1S92, the insurance 
partnership of Sargent, Anglim & Keith was 
established, but ten months later Messrs. Sar- 
gent and Kcitii withdrew. .Since that time 
Mr. Anglim has been sole proprietor of the 
business, which is steadily increasing under 
his alert antl enterprising directorship. He 
carries all kinds of insurance, making a spe- 
cialty of fire and life risks, and is general 
agent for South-eastern Massachusetts for the 
Provident Savings Life Assurance Society of 
New York. 

In real estate, and mortgages also, Mr. Ang- 
lim has an extensive business. In October, 
1893, he started to form a syndicate for the 
purchase of a tract of forty-six acres lying 
south of Pleasant Street, now known as Inter- 
vale Park; and in January, 1894, after many 
discouragements, the syndicate was organized. 
In October of the same year the first building- 
lot was sold, and the first house started; and 
since then, out of a' total of one hundred and 
eighty-seven lots, one hundred and sixty-seven 
have been sold, and sixty-seven houses begun, 
some of which are finished, costing from two 
thousand to ten thousand dollars above the un- 
derpinning — a remarkable record for a period 
o( only two years, and hard-time years at that. 
The company has expended about twenty thou- 
sand dollars on streets and other improve- 
ments. Mr. Anglim has other land to de- 
velop : a tract of eighty acres at Rangeley 
Park, Brockton Heights; eighty acres at the 
south end, formerly the P. and N. Copeland 
farm; and several smaller tracts in different 
parts of the city. 

He is a member of the Commercial Club of 
Brockton; has been Past Grand and Treasurer 



of Electric Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows; belongs to Nemasket Kneampment; 
the Royal Arcanum; Brockton Council, No. 
848; Brockton Colony Pilgrim Fathers, No. 
138; Garfield Commandery, United Order of 
Golden. Cross,, and K. A. Ks.senic Order. He 
is connected with the Porter Evangelical 
Church, and was nine years heatl usher, and 
five years Secretary and Treasurer of the Sun- 
day-school. 

QVUGUSTUS M. BEARSE, Town Clerk, 
f^X Treasurer, and Collector of Middle- 
'^ ® V_^ boro, Mass., was born in Chatham, 
Barnstable County, this State, October 8, 
1853, a son of Reuben L. and Mercy (Taylor) 
Bearse. Reuben L. Bearse was in business 
for a number of years as a merchant tailor, and 
is now living retired in Chelsea, Mass. He 
has been blessed with a family of six children 
— Augustus M., Abbie E., Manchester E., 
Erastus T., Mercy L., and Annie E. 

Augustus M. Bearse grew to manhood in 
Chatham, imbibing health and strength from 
the saline breezes of the old Cape town. He 
was graduated from the Chatham High School, 
and then began to learn the tailor's trade 
with his father. The work suited him, and 
with natural taste and skill he soon became 
popular as a man's outfitter. In course of 
time he succeeded his father in business, and 
about 1886 opened an establishment in 
Middleboro. 

He had been active for some time in politics 
as a Republican, and in 1890 he was appointed 
Postmaster. The duties of this position in 
the civil service required all his attention. 
Accordingly, he left the world of trade, and 
for four years presided at the post-office. 
Being relieved by the appointment of his suc- 
cessor in 1894, he has since that time had 
much financial and political business to attend 



i66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to. He is auditor of the Co-operative Bank 
of Middleboro, Secretary of the Plymouth 
County Republican Committee, and, as stated 
above, is Town Clerk, Treasurer, and Collec- 
tor. Mr. Bearse is a man of mature judgment 
and practical ability, and, needless to say, 
enjoys the confidence and respect of his towns- 
men. 

He was married February 5, 1873, to Clara 
G. Kent, of Chatham, daughter of George N. 
and Clara C. (Kendrick) Kent. One daugh- 
ter, Gertrude A., who blessed this union, has 
passed to the world beyond. Mr. Bearse is 
prominent in various fraternal organizations, 
as well as in political circles, belonging to 
St. Martin's Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Middle- 
boro Lodge, No. 143, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows; Colfa.K Encampment, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows; and the Im- 
proved Order of Red Men. He is a member 
of the Congregational church. 



W': 



ALLACE C. FLAGG, a prominent 
man of Brockton, was born in 
Braintree, Vt. , June 26, 1851, son 
of Austin and Elvira (Howard) Flagg. The 
Flao-o-s are one of the old families of Worces- 
ter, Mass., that from there have scattered 
throughout New England. William Flagg, 
the grandfather of Wallace C, died in Old 
Orchard, Me., at the age of thirty-five years, 
leaving four children to the care of his widow. 
Three of these were: William, Austin, and 
Lucina. Austin Flagg lost his eyesight in 
assisting to put out a conflagration. He, 
however, excelled in mental computations. 
Some seventy years ago he left Worcester, and 
was one of the early settlers in Braintree, Vt. 
For a number of years he was engaged in 
farming and lumbering, owned large tracts of 
timber land, and operated three saw-mills. A 



stanch Republican, he was one of the active 
politicians of Braintree. He died in 1874, 
aged sixty-seven years. His wife, who is a 
daughter of Nathan Howard, of Braintree, Vt., 
is eighty years old, and resides in her native 
town. She did not ride on a railroad train 
until she was over si.xty years of age. When 
she was over seventy years old, she travelled 
alone through California and the West. She 
is a member of the Congregational church, to 
which her husband also belonged. They had 
eleven children, four of whom, three sons and 
a daughter, are living. Two of their sons 
fought in the war of the Rebellion, George 
W. in the Second Vermont Regiment, and 
Watson O. in the Ninth Regiment Vermont 
Infantry. George, who is yet living, served 
four years, and held the rank of Captain when 
he was discharged. Watson O. was less than 
sixteen years of age when he enlisted. He 
served three years, and held the rank of Ser- 
geant when his term of service was ended. 
George W. and Persis are now living in Ver- 
mont. Waldo J., who is a drover, and man- 
ages a general store, is in Miller, Custer 
County, Neb. Dayton W. is engaged in 
farming in the same county, in the township 
of Oconto. 

Wallace C. Flagg received a limited educa- 
tion, attending school from three to six 
months in the year. He earned his first 
wages when eight years of age. The amount 
was eight dollars, part in postage stamps, for 
which he performed a month's work in the 
hayfield, under the hot sun of July. Hiring 
out at intervals as a farm hand, he remained 
with his parents until he was twenty years old. 
He then entered on a somewhat checkered 
career. For some time he was employed in 
Boston as horse-car conductor. Following that 
he was for five months brakeman on the pas- 
senger express of the Boston & Albany Rail- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



■ 67 



roacl between Boston and Springfield. He 
next entered the employ of the Boston Ice 
Company, with whom he remained eleven years. 
In that period he ijiiilt ice-houses, cut, packed, 
and shipped ice, delivered ice to customers, 
collected bills, and at times acted as foreman. 
In March, 18S2, he purchased the stock in 
trade, includinf? the horses and wagons, of Mr. 
W. F. Cleveland, of Brockton, who had been 
in the ice business twenty years. During the 
first three months he met with the most deter- 
mined opposition; but he eventually conquered 
it, and carried on a successful business until 
1895. On April 15 of that year he disposed 
of his retail trade and his teams, and since 
tiien lias been engaged in developing the 
wholesale business. He cuts his own ice from 
the reservoir, Factory Pond, and four or five 
other ponds. In connection with his ice busi- 
ness he has a blacksmith shop, which he has 
owned some twelve years. Mr. Flagg has 
largely invested in real estate. He owns 
twelve acres of land on East Union Street, on 
the east side of the railroad track. He has 
made arrangements with the railroad company 
to lay a private track, as he intends to erect 
business blocks there. He owns one thousand 
and four feet between Lawrence and Union 
Streets — all desirable land, unspoiled by 
grade crossings. The large lumber yard of 
H. S. Richmond on Court Street belongs to 
Mr. Flagg, also the stables occupied by the 
City Ice Company of Brockton, and a number 
of tenement houses. He was one of the first 
stockholders and directors of the East Side 
Street Railroad — one of the first electric rail- 
ways in the State — and acted as Director 
some five years. 

Mr. Flagg was married in October, 1S80, 
to Angle A., daughter of Rufus Newton Flint, 
of Braintree, Vt. Of the three children born 
to him, Lena, a little maid of ten, is living. 



In politics he is a Republican, and he has 
been elected to the City Council from Ward 2. 
Made a Mason when twenty-one years of age, 
he belongs at present to I'hieni.v Lodge, West 
Randolph, Vt. ; and for the past five years he 
has been a member of the Commercial Club. 
He attends the Univcrsalist church. Mr. 
Flagg's success is largely due to his close 
attention to business. Since his marriage his 
wife has been an able and intelligent helper. 
They did all the book-keeping together eight 
years. 



^^•*-»- 




NDREW GALF:, a well-known builder 
and building mover of Brockton, 
born in 1S50 in Mtjriah, Franklin 
County, N. Y., is a son of F>.ra and Salome 
(Pierce) Gale. The family originally came 
from New Hampshire. Eliphalet, the grand- 
father, who was a farmer in F'ranklin, N.H., 
married a Miss Cass, w-ho bore him eleven 
children. One of these, Jerusha, is still liv- 
ing, being now ninety-two years old. lizra, 
the youngest, who was born in I'ranklin, 
moved with his parents to New York State. 
He was a farmer, and he served the community 
as a Trustee of the district school. He was 
united in' marriage with Salome, daughter of 
Hiram Pierce, of Moriah. By this union 
there were seven children, all of whom are 
now living. They are: Andrew, Roderick, 
Cyrus, Albert, Luetta, Cordelia, and Watson. 
Andrew Gale was educated in the public 
schools of Moriah and at i-'ranklin Academy. 
He worked on his father's farm for some time 
before he was nineteen years old. Then he 
was similarly employed on other farms for 
four years. Afterward, for one year, he 
worked as lineman for the Western Union 
Telegraph Company. Since then he has been 
engaged in building and moving. Coming to 
Brockton in 1874, he was first employed by 



1 68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



E. H. Kingman. In 1882 he began in a 
small way to work for himself, and soon after 
found that he was fully capable of conducting 
the business. At the present time he employs 
from six to twelve men, besides six horses, 
doing work in Nantucket and other places, as 
well as Brockton. He is also profitably en- 
gaged in farming. In 1884 he married Lucy 
W., daughter of C. E. Kingman, of Brockton. 
In politics he is a Republican He acceptably 
served the town in the capacity of Overseer of 
the Poor for two years. 




IDVVIN W. WHITING, of Rockland, 
Mass., founder of the first clothing 
store in the town, is a successful 
business man who has carved his fortune with 
his own hands. He was born in Hanover, 
Mass., December 6, 1833, a son of Piam C. 
and Sarah (Brooks) Whiting, both of Hanover. 

Piam C. Whiting, who was a shoemaker, 
died at the age of forty-five. His wife lived 
to be seventy-three years old. They were the 
parents of five children, as follows: one de- 
ceased ; Edwin W., the subject of this sketch; 
Angeline, living in Rockland; Piam A., de- 
ceased; and Maria, residing in this town. 

Edwin W. Whiting received a common- 
school education in his native town — a lim- 
ited education, for he was but eleven years old 
when his father died. As soon as he was able, 
he went to work at shoemaking, the leading 
industry of this part of the State, one of his 
employers being Joseph Studley. He was 
employed for some time in Mr. Studley's fac- 
tory in Hanover, stitching and cutting, and 
then for four years drove a dry-goods wagon — 
two years for Nahum Moore and two years for 
J. A. & C. W. Torrey. In September, 1862, 
he started in business in a small way with a 
stock of clothing and gentlemen's furnishing 



goods. It was the first store of the kind 
opened here; and the prophets declared that 
there was not trade enough in the town to sup- 
port it, and that the venture would of necessity 
be a disastrous one. After being in business 
about a year, Mr. Whiting formed a copartner- 
ship with Mr. R. T. Eaton, continuing for 
twenty years. Mr. Eaton then retired, and 
Mr. Whiting again conducted the business 
alone. Thus the enterprise lived and thrived; 
and the store founded by Mr. Whiting is now 
the largest and best equipped in the town. 

On January i, 1897, Mr. Whiting, having 
accumulated a competence, disposed of his 
business to Lucius W. Orcutt, of Boston, and 
retired from active cares. He is a Trustee of 
the Rockland Savings Bank. 

In 1850 he was united in marriage with 
Jane B., daughter of Andrew Studley; and 
three children have blessed tlieir union, two of 
whom are living: George C. , in business in 
Rockland; and Grace N., wife of E. S. Ter- 
rell, of Spencer. 

Mr. Whiting is a strong Republican, and is 
able to give good reasons for his fidelity to his 
party. He is a chapter Mason, a Knight 
Templar, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow, 
and a Knight of Honor; and he has been a 
member of the Rockland Commercial Club 
since its organization, and assisted materially 
in its good work. A permanent resident of 
Rockland, he is one of the substantial citizens 
of the place, widely known and highly re- 
spected. 



<■•♦♦-» ■ 




LDEN S. BRADFORD, born August 
4, 18 1 5, is, on his father's side, the 
seventh in descent from William 
Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth 
Colony, in a branch of the family whose mem- 
bers, from the governor down, have lived con- 
tinuously in that part of the ancient township 




EDWIN W. WHITING. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



>7' 



of Plymouth now known as Kingston. On his 
mother's side he is the sixth in descent from 
John Faunce, who came in the ship "Ann " in 
1623, with the latest company of colonists 
who are now recognized as "the Pilgrims." 
He is also, of record, a descendant of Elder 
William Brewster, and of twelve others of 
the "Mayflower's" comjiany, and of I{lder 
Thomas Ciishman, and eleven others of the 
later companies. 

He was brought up a farmer, with such edu- 
cational opportunities as were afforded by the 
common schools of his period, supplemented, 
after attaining his majority, by a brief course 
of instruction at Pierce Academy in IVIiddle- 
boro. For a number of terms he was em- 
ployed in teaching, and subsequently through 
active life in surveying, conveyancing, the set- 
tlement of estates as executor and administra- 
tor, the adjustment of controversies as referee, 
and in the discharge of other delegated duties, 
public and private. 

He has been largely intrusted with the 
management of town affairs, having held vari- 
ous town offices for periods aggregating one 
hundred and twelve official years. He is one 
of four descendants of Governor Bradford who 
collectively have held the office of Selectman 
in Kingston seventy-six years, and one of four 
descendants of John l'"auncc who collectively 
have held the same office eighty-nine years. 
He has been chosen Moderator of more than 
fifty town meetings, and has presided, ex 
officio, as one of the Selectmen, at nearly an 
equal number of meetings for the election of 
State, district, and county officers. In the 
Civil War he was an enrolling officer for the 
government, and a recruiting officer for his 
town, which at the close of the contest was 
credited with thirty-three men in excess of all 
calls by the President. 

For a series of years, and until failing 



health compelled him to decline further ser- 
vice, he was a Trustee of the Plymouth Five 
Cents Savings Bank, a Trustee of the Stand- 
ish Monument Association, and Vice-Presi- 
dent and Supervisor of the Plymouth County 
Agricultural Society. Many of his reports to 
that society on agricultural topics have been 
republished by the Secretary of the State 
Board of Agriculture. For a number of terms 
he was Special Commissioner of Plymouth 
County, and in 1863 he represented the Fifth 
Plymouth District in the Massachusetts legis- 
lature. His commissions as Justice of the 
Peace have covered a period of more than forty 
years. 

Denominationally, he is a Unitarian; politi- 
cally, a Republican, having been also an 
original P"ree Soiler. In recent years he has 
withdrawn from any participation in public 
affairs except through the ballot box. Him- 
self and three sisters, children of Spencer 
Bradford, have all long since outlived the 
allotted threescore years and ten. He has 
never married. 




l-.V. HENRV EDWARD GODDARD. 
A.M., M.D., a New Church clergy- 

^ * man of Brockton, who for some 
time had charge of the New Jerusalem Church, 
was born May 20, 1852, son of the Rev. 
Warren and Sarah (Eldridge) Goddard. The 
Goddard family was established in this coun- 
try by two brothers. Englishmen, who settled 
in Brookline, Mass. From one of these 
brothers the descent is traced through two 
Johns — the great-grandfather and the grand- 
father of Henry Edward — to Warren, his 
father. At the time of his death, William 
Goddard, a brother of Warren, was the oldest 
living graduate of Harvard College. 

Warren Goddard was born in Portsmouth, 



175 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



N.H., September 12, 1800. He received his 
early education in thiat place and in Phillips 
(Exeter) Academy, and subsequently gradu- 
ated from Harvard in 1818. After leaving 
Harvard he taught school for a while in 
Princeton, at Sandwich Academy, and in other 
places. While so doing he studied law in his 
leisure time. At a later date, feeling that he 
was best adapted for the ministry, he studied 
theology with Thaddeus M. Harris, D.D., of 
Princeton. While pursuing his studies there 
he became interested in the New Church doc- 
trines through Samson Reed. In 1839 he was 
ordained in North Bridgewater, and he 
preached for some time in Abington, although 
not regiilarly installed, and attended the 
quarterly meeting on the Cape. He resigned 
his church in 1863. He served for some time 
on the Brockton School Board, and was much 
interested in establishing a high school in this 
city. His death occurred October 29, 1889, 
aged eighty-nine years. He was twice mar- 
ried. His first marriage was contracted Au- 
gust 6, 1829, with Mary Crowell Tobey, of 
Sandwich, Mass., who died in June, 1847. 
Born of this union were six children, of whom 
three are living — ^ Benjamin, John, and James 
Frederick. By his second marriage which 
took place January i, 1849, he was united to 
Sarah, daughter of John and Betty Eldridge, 
of Yarmouthport, Mass. She bore him four 
children, namely: Warren, now a well-known 
lawyer of Brockton ; Sarah Eldridge, who re- 
sides in the old home; Henry Edward, the 
subject of this sketch; and Asa E., an assist- 
ant teacher in the Waltham (Mass.) High 
School. 

Henry Edward Goddard graduated from the 
Brockton High School as valedictorian in 1871. 
Subsequently after attending Cornell Univer- 
sity for one year, he entered Brown University, 
from which he graduated in 1875, taking one 



of the honorary positions, with the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts. He next studied at the 
New Church Theological School, then at Wal- 
tham, Mass., and after graduating was at Cin- 
cinnati for one year, assisting his brother, the 
Rev. John Goddard, who had charge of the 
New Church in that city. In June, 1876, he 
was invited to preach at the New Jerusalem 
Church in Brockton, and on September 24 of 
that year he was ordained. Regularly in- 
stalled as pastor of this society, he attended 
to the spiritual needs of his flock until No- 
vember, 1895, when he resigned in order to 
take a course of medical studies at Dartmouth 
College. Here he received the degree of 
Doctor of Medicine in November, 1896. It 
has been said that when a man devotes his life 
to a profession he gets into a rut which be- 
comes deeper and narrower as he grows older. 
Mr. Goddard has avoided this, recognizing no 
limit in the field of mental research. He took 
up the study of medicine to broaden his mind. 
In 1893 he travelled through Palestine, 
Greece, Italy, France, and other countries for 
study. From early boyhood he has been an 
enthusiastic student. While fitting himself 
for the ministry, he took courses of lectures 
in various lines. 

Mr. Goddard was married December 31, 
1877, to Mary E. Outcalt, of Cincinnati. 
She died June 28, 1887, leaving two children. 
These are": Samuel W., born February 5, 
1 88 1, who entered the Brockton High School 
in September, 1896; and Ruth, born Septem- 
ber 2, 1884. On May 7, 1889, the father 
contracted a second marriage with Miss Hat- 
tie Faxon, of Brockton, a sister of Mrs. Dr. 
E. A. Chase and Dr. Fred S. Fa.xon, of 
Brockton. Mr. Goddard has been a mem- 
ber of the Brockton School Committee for 
three years, and had charge of the high 
school. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



173 




jAl'TAIN MARTINA. HUMPHREY, 
of Hingham, now living in retire- 
ment, was born here on October 16, 
1837, son of Martin and .Aliigail S. (W'hittier) 
Humphrey. His grancifatlier, Jonathan Hum- 
phrey, a native of Cohasset, Mass., was a 
farmer, anil owned four hundred acres of land, 
comprising cranberry bogs, meadow, wtiodland, 
and a cleared farm of good land. He mar- 
ried, and became the father of twelve chil- 
dren. 

His yoimgest son, Martin, who was born in 
Cohasset, became a sailor, and served in the 
capacities of mate and captain for many years, 
during which he made voyages to foreign 
ports. In politics he was a Republican, and 
he served on the School Committee for several 
years. He married Abigail Humphrey; and 
they had three children, of whom Captain 
Martin is the only survivor. At the age of 
forty-five he was lost in Boston Bay during a 
storm. His wife lived to be threescore years 
and ten. Both were highly respected mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Martin A. Humphrey acquired his education 
in Cohasset, where he removed with his father 
when he was quite young. After leaving 
school, he began a seafaring life, making for- 
eign voyages exclusively. He has been the 
commander of full-rigged ships, among which 
were "Camilla, " "Alaska," "Golden Fleece," 
"Columbus," and the "Paramita, " and has 
twice circumnavigated the globe. Captain 
Humphrey's la.st voyage was made in 1884, 
from San Francisco to Liverpool, in the ship 
"Paramita." Since that time he has resided 
on the old homestead in Hingham. In poli- 
tics he affiliates with the Republican party, 
and in religion he is a liberal. On New 
Year's Day, 1865, he was united in marriage 
with Mary V. Thomas, daughter of Joseph and 
Morilla (Bates) Thomas. They have two 



children — Frederick M. and Mabel 1). Hum- 
phrey. Captain Humphrey stands high in tiic 
community. 




\<\:[) iii;ri5i:rt Packard i. 

well-known citizen of Brockton, bonk- 
keejKMand salesman for Snell & Ather- 
ton, mamifacturers of shoe tools, and for many 
years a member of Martland's Band. He was 
born in West Bridgewater, F'ebruary 2, 1854, 
a son of Japhet B. and Lucretia P. (Dunbar) 
Packard. Japhet B. Packard, whose father 
was Isaac Packard, was liorn in that part of 
North Bridgewater now known as Jerusalem, 
September 7, 18 19. He has lived in West 
Bridgewater, his present home, for many 
years, and has worked at shoemaking. He is 
now seventy-seven years old. His wife is a 
daughter of Silas Dunbar, of West Bridge- 
water. They reared a family of four sons and 
two daughters, of whom one son and one 
daughter have passed away. 

P'red Herbert Packard acquired his educa- 
tion in the public schools of West Bridge- 
water. At the age of twenty he went to work 
in a Brockton shoe shop; and on P'ebruarv 18, 
1880, he entered the employ of Snell & Ather- 
ton, for whom he has now been book-keeper 
and salesman some ten years. While attend- 
ing to his duties as an employee of this firm, 
he has conducted a successful real estate busi- 
ness of his own. In 1888 89 he opened up 
two plots of land on Ilerrod and Martland 
Avenues, and seventy house lots were disposed 
of; and he owns plots on Howard and Montello 
Streets and valuable tracti in different parts of 
the city. Mr. Packard played first clarinet 
with Martland's Band for twelve years, and 
during four years of that time he was Secretary 
and Treasurer of the organization. 

He was married in 1882 to Idella A., 



'74 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



daughter of Veranus Snell of the firm of Snell 
& Atherton, and has one son — Warren Bel- 
cher, nine years old. Mr. Packard was 
elected to the City Council in 1892 on the 
Republican ticket, and was also elected as 
Alderman in 1896-97. He is one of the Trus- 
tees of the People's Savings Bank. He has 
taken several degrees in Masonry, belonging 
to St. George Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Sa- 
tucket Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Bay 
State Commandery, Knights Templars; and 
the Mystic Shrine; and he belongs to Massa- 
soit Lodge, No. 69, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and to the Brockton Commercial 
Club. He attends worship at the Waldo 
(Congregational) Chapel of Montello. 



Wa!sON : 
citizens 



SHAW, one of the oldest 
IS of Carver, Mass., a repre- 
sentative of one of the long-settled 
families of Plymouth County, dating back 
almost to the time of the arrival of the Pil- 
grim Fathers, was born in this town, Decem- 
ber 14, 181 3, son of Nathaniel and Lucy 
(Fuller) Shaw. He is of the fourth genera- 
tion of his race born in Carver, the first hav- 
ing been represented by his great-grandfather, 
Nathaniel Shaw. 

Mr. Wilson Shaw, who has taken the pains 
to acquaint himself with the record of the fam- 
ily, thus traces his descent from the immi- 
grant progenitor: Jonathan .Shaw came from 
England, and settled in Plymouth, Mass., 
where he and his son. Deacon John Shaw, 
died at about the same time, and their remains 
were laid to rest in one grave. Jonathan 
Shaw, son of Deacon Shaw, was born in 
1663. His son, Lieutenant Jonathan Shaw, 
born in 1689, was one of the builders of 
Pope's Point P"urnace in 1734. He served as 
an ofificer in the French War; and Captain 



Nathaniel Shaw, born in 171 8, son of said 
Lieutenant, served as an officer in the Revolu- 
tionary War, using the sword that had been 
his father's. Some time afterward Lieutenant 
Joseph Shaw, son of Captain Nathaniel, car- 
ried the same old sword while on duty, and 
had the misfortune to break it when leaping a 
fence. 

The children of Captain Nathaniel Shaw 
and his wife Hannah — twelve in number — 
were: Mary; lilizabeth; Nathaniel, Jr.; Jo- 
seph, born in 1749; Hannah; Ruth; Jona- 
than; Deliverance; James; Zilpha; and two 
that died in infancy. 

Lieutenant Joseph Shaw and his wife Lydia 
also had twelve children, seven sons and five 
daughters, namely: Joseph, Jr., Oliver, Isaac, 
Cephas, and Elkanah, all moulders; Nathaniel 
and George, foremen; Lydia; Ruth; Wait- 
still; Betsey; and Hannah. 

Nathaniel Shaw, son of Lieutenant Joseph 
and father of Wilson Shaw, was born on the 
farm in Carver which was his son's birthplace; 
and he there devoted much of his life to the 
pursuit of agriculture. He was killed by the 
falling of a tree. Seven children were born 
into his home, namely: Nathaniel; Gilbert; 
Lydia; George; Wilson, the subject of this 
sketch ; Joseph ; and Lucy. Three of these 
are living — Lydia, Wilson, and Joseph. 

Wilson Shaw was born and reared on the 
homestead, and received a good practical educa- 
tion. When nineteen years of age, he went 
to work at the old Pope's Point Furnace in 
Carver, where he learned the moulder's trade; 
and this trade he followed for the greater part 
of forty years, finding employment in different 
places. He resided in Norton, Mass., for a 
few years, and then removed to Woodstock, 
Vt., where he bought a farm, and lived about 
fifteen years. At the end of that period, re- 
turning to his native town, he here purchased 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a farm, and cngagctl in the pursuit of agiicult- 
uie until 1883, when, being seventy years of 
age, he sold his farm; and since that time he 
has enjoyed the leisure befitting his years. 

Mr. Shaw married a lady bearing the same 
surname. Miss I'amelia C. Shaw. He has no 
children. In political matters he favors the 
Republican side. Mr. Shaw's long life of 
eighty-three years has been a useful and hon- 
orable one, and he justly enjoys the rcsjiect 
and confidence of all who know him. 




M'TAIN JOSHUA JAMES, keeper 



I of the United States Life-saving Sta- 

C ^ tion at I'oint Allerton, Mass., was 

born in Hull, Phmouth Countv, November 
22, 1827, son of William and l^sther (Dill) 
James. His father was a native of Holland 
and a soldier in the army, which he left when 
a young man to become a sailor. He subsc- 
cpiently came to America, and, settling in 
Hull, was a sailor and fisherman the rest of 
his life. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Esther Dill, belonged to an old family here. 
Twelve children were horn to them, and four 
sons are now living. In 1837 the mother with 
others of the family was drowned in Hull Ciut, 
the sloop in which they had embarked having 
capsized. The father was on the boat, but was 
unable to save them. He lived to be eighty- 
si.x years of age. 

Joshua James, after acciuiring his education 
in the schools of his native town, engaged in 
coasting and fishing with his father until he 
was twenty-five years of age, thereafter contin- 
uing the business for himself. He has long 
been active in the work of the Massachusetts 
Humane Society, going in their boats since he 
was fifteen years of age, and has saved scores 
of lives from the sea. In 1889 he was 
appointed to his present position of keeper of 



the Life-saving Station at I'oint Allerton. 
He has been honored with various testimo- 
nials, including a bronze medal from the 
Massachusetts Humane Society for rescuing 
the crew of the I-'rench brig "L'lvssay" at 
Nantasket Hcach on April 1, 1850; a certifi- 
cate for rescuing the officers and crew of ship 
"Delaware" off the Toddy Rocks in Hoston 
Harbor, March 27, 1857; a silver medal in 1886 
from the Massachusetts Humane Society for 
rescuing the crew of the brig "Anita Owen," 
ten in number, and for his brave and faithful 
service of more than forty years in the life- 
boats of that society; a gold medal from the 
same society for his humane e.xertion in rescu- 
ing the lives of twenty-nine persons from five 
wrecks on November 25 and 26, 1S88; also a 
gold medal from United States Signal Service 
for bravery at the wreck of the schooner "Ger- 
trude Abbott " lost at that time. 

Even now, in his seventieth year, his physi- 
cal strength, his resolute daring and heroic 
promptitude in emergency, are not abated. 
The rescue of the crew of the Hritish schcioner 
"Ulrica" at Nantasket Heach by Captain 
James and his hardy surfmen during the vio- 
lent storm of December 16, 1896, was deserv- 
edly chronicled in the papers as "an achieve- 
ment of exceptional skill and bravery." The 
wreck occurred op|)osite Kenbernia. A spe- 
cial railway train brought the life-savers from 
the station three miles away. The Humane 
Society's life-boat was launched; and three un- 
successful attempts were made to reach the 
broken vessel, hopelessly stranded, buffeted 
by the raging billows. The third time the 
boat was tossed like a feather twenty feet into 
the air, and Captain James was hurled into 
the roaring, foaming water. Reaching shore 
again, wet and chilled, but undaunted, he di- 
rected the firing of the Hunt gun that had just 
been brought to the scene of action, and which 



.76 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



on the first trial sent the life-line high up in 
the rigging of the "Ulrica," where it could 
not be reached by the half-frozen sailors. A 
second shot was fired, and a third. A hawser 
was made fast to the vessel: the life-boat by 
its means was pulled out, and the shipwrecked 
crew, seven in number, were saved. 

Captain James, when thirty-two years of 
age, was united in marriage with Louise F. 
Luchie, of Hull. They have had ten chil- 
dren, six of whom are now living, namely: 
Louise Z. , who married Eben T. Pope, of this 
town, and has two children — Hildegarde U. 
and Dolly T. ; Osceola F. James, who is cap- 
tain of the Life-saving Boat of the Humane 
Society at Nantasket Beach; Edith G., who 
married Joseph T. Galiano, of Hull, and they 
have one child, Eva; Bertha C. ; Roselle F. ; 
and Genevieve E. James. The father of Mrs. 
James was John Luchie, who came from Aus- 
tria, and settled in Hull in the early part of 
1830. He was a sailor until 1840, when he 
was employed as agent of the F. Tudor Ice 
Company in Boston. He was a very successful 
business man, and was highly esteemed. He 
died at the age of seventy-five years. His 
wife, formerly Eliza T. Lovell, now at the age 
of seventy-eight, resides with her daughter 
Louise, Mrs. James, in Hull. 



JRA ALLEN LEACH, late an able 
lawyer of Campello, was born in North 
Bridgewater (now Brockton), June 7, 
1850, son of Allen and Huldah G. (Morey) 
Leach. His paternal grandfather was Oliver 
Leach; and Peleg and Lucius Leach, shoe 
manufacturers of Brockton, were his uncles. 
Allen Leach, his father, was a farmer. He 
resided in Whitman during the war, and there 
manufactured shoes. 

Ira Allen Leach was graduated from the 



high school and the Bridgewater State Normal 
School. Being mentally equipped, he began 
a commercial career, at first becoming a trav- 
elling salesman for his father, selling shoes in 
the West. For a time after that he engaged 
in the manufacture of shoes; but, owing to 
disastrous losses by the Boston fire, he was 
obliged to give it up. Nothing daunted by 
this experience, he then worked in the shop 
of his uncle Marcus Leach, at the same time 
reaching out after something higher by read- 
ing law at home evenings. He also studied 
with W. W. & F. M. Wilkins, prominent 
lawyers of North Bridgewater. He passed a 
a most meritorious examination for admit- 
tance to the bar, and began the practice of 
law in Campello, where he remained until 
his death, which occurred on January 10, 
1893. 

In politics he was an undeviating Republi- 
can, and was actively interested in political 
measures. Fraternally, he affiliated in mem- 
bership with St. George's Lodge A. F. & 
A. M., of Campello, which he served as Audi- 
tor; the Massasoit Lodge, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, of Brockton; the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen; and the United 
Order of Pilgrim Fathers, in which he had the 
highest oi^ce. 

On May 12, 1871, Mr. Leach was united in 
marriage with Abbie A. Clayton, a daughter 
of George W. Clayton, of Farmington, Me. 
Mr. and Mrs. Leach became the parents of sev- 
eral children, namely: Allen, who died at the 
age of seven; Cora B., who was graduated 
from the Brockton High School, and is now a 
stenographer; Ira Allen, who manages the 
place; Carrie E., Grace M., Helen F., and 
Oliver — five of whom reside here with their 
widowed mother. The parents both attended 
the South Congregational Church, of which 
Mrs. Leach is a member. 



^^ :5* 




IRA A. LEACH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'79 



ur- 



^^CS^/aSHINGTON I. JAMES, the com 
V^V^ tcoiis superintendent of Melvill 
Gardens at Downer's Landing, 
Mass., was born in Hull, Plymouth County, 
on May i, 185 1, son of Samuel and Mary 1'. 
(Gushing) James, of Duxbury, Mass. 

His grandfather, William James, a native 
of Holland, was a soldier who left the army to 
become a sailor. In early manhood he came 
to America, and, settling in Hull, thereafter 
followed the occupations of sailor and fisher- 
man. He married Esther Dill, who belonged 
to one of the old families of this town; and 
they had twelve children, si.\ of whom — 
namely, four sons and two daughters — are 
still living. Mrs. Esther Dill James met with 
an untimely end, being drowned with others of 
her family in 1S37 in Hull Gut. The sloop in 
which Ihey had set sail capsized, and the rocks 
and eddies made rescue impossible. William 
James lived to be eighty-si.x years old. 

Samuel James, son of William, was a native 
of Hull, and has been a mariner on the coast 
all his life, making his home here. While he 
was connected with the Massachusetts Humane 
Society, which was incorporated in 1791, at 
the risk of his life he rescued from drowning 
twelve persons, the only survivors of the ship 
"Maritana, " wrecked near Hoston Light, 
November 3, 1861, on her way from Liver- 
pool, England. He received a certificate from 
the Humane Society in appreciation of his 
skill and courage. Other medals and purses 
that have been offered him his modesty has 
led him to decline. He now makes a busi- 
ness of keeping pleasure yachts, which he 
leases to the summer visitors. Though 
seventy-three years old, he is still hale and 
hearty. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. 
Samuel James married Mary P. Gushing; and 
they became the parents of nine children, 
eight of whom grew to maturity; namely. 



Washington I., Samuel, Laura R., F"annie E., 
Lillie R., Abbie A., Charles M., and Esther 
S. James. Laura R. James married for her 
second husband Warren Towlc, of Bridgeport, 
Conn. By her former marriage to James W. 
Pope, of Hull, she had one child, Clarence 
Pope. Lillie R. is the wife of Clarence E. 
Leonard, of Wakefield, Mass. She has no 
children. Abbie A. is the widow of William 
Cullihan, of Hull, and has one child, a son 
named Paul. Esther S. James married Jcseph 
Keon, of Middleboro, and died leaving two 
children — Esther S. and Harry Keon. Mr. 
Samuel James and his wife are highly re- 
spected members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Mrs. James has now attained the age 
of threescore years and ten, and still enjoys 
good health. 

Washington I. James, after acquiring his 
education in Hull, was engaged in coasting 
with his father between Maine and New York. 
In 1870 he settled in Hingham at Downer's 
Landing, and oflRciated as assistant superin- 
tendent of Melville Gardens until the death of 
James D. Scudder, when he succeeded to the 
superintendency. For the past nine years he 
has served as Constable. In politics he is in- 
dependent. He also has been instrumental in 
saving a number of lives. In 1872, when the 
schooner " Helena" ran ashore on North East 
Bar, Point Allerton, he assisteil in the rescue 
of five persons, receiving a prize for his 
bravery. Personally, Mr. James is highly 
esteemed, having made many new friends since 
his connection with Melville Gardens. 

On November 28, 1878, he was united in 
marriage with Catherine L. I""o!ey, daughter 
of Cornelius Foley, of Hingham, Mass. Tiiey 
have three children- — ^ May Gertrude, I'rances 
Lilian, and Helen Catherine. The father and 
mother are both members of the Catholic 
church in Hin<:ham. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



bfREDERICK A. WARD, a general 
P [, agriculturist and cranberry-grower, was 
born January 4, 1855, in South Middle- 
boro, this county, son of Austin and Ann 
Janette (Sherman) Ward. His paternal 
grandfather was Eliab Ward, a native of 
Carver, where he was engaged in farming dur- 
ing the greater part of his entire lifetime. 
y\ustin Ward had his birth, July 3, 1826, in 
Carver, where he grew to manhood, and fol- 
lowed the business of butcher. In r86i he 
enlisted in Company E of the Eighteenth 
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and 
served at the front for one year and three 
months. He was then discharged on account 
of disability. Some time after he re-enlisted 
in Company C of the Fifty-eighth Regiment 
of Massachusetts Volunteers. After a few 
months' service he was mustered out, June 8, 
1865. On June 15, 1853, he married Miss 
Ann Janette Sherman, a daughter of Joseph 
R. Sherman, of Carver, where she was born 
September 3, 1833. They had three children, 
namely: Frederick A., the subject of this 
sketch; Emma J., who is now the wife of 
Samuel J. Sporrow, a carpenter, of Middle- 
boro; and Betsy W. , now the wife of Wilston 
B. Chandler, of Middleboro, who is a conduc- 
tor on the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
Railroad. The father died in 1878, in his 
fifty-third year. The mother, who survives 
him, makes her home in Middleboro. 

When about a year old, Frederick A. Ward 
removed with his parents from South Middle- 
boro to North Carver, where he passed the rest 
of his boyhood, receiving his education in the 
district schools. He began to earn his living 
at the age of si.steen. In his twentieth year 
he went to Plymouth to learn the moulder's 
trade, and there subsequently followed that 
calling for five years. He then worked in 
Providence, R.I., and Wakefield, Mass., for 



six months each, after which he returned to 
Carver, and engaged in a general mercantile 
business. Discontinuing that after two years, 
he then conducted a stage and express route 
from Carver to Silver Lake in Plympton, tak- 
ing the cars thence to Boston, and making the 
round trip every day for nearly six years. 
One year later he purchased about forty acres. 
To this he has since made considerable addi- 
tions. He carries on general husbandry, and 
gives special attention to the cultivation of 
cranberries. 

On July 16, 1881, Mr. Ward wedded Miss 
Clara E. Perkins, who was born March 26, 
1857, to Mr. and Mrs. William Perkins, of 
Plympton. Mr. Ward and his wife have now 
one child, a son, Jay A., who was born No- 
vember 28, 1883. Mr. Ward participates 
actively in the civic and social affairs of the 
community. He has served his fellow-towns- 
men since 1889 as a member of the Board of 
Selectmen, officiating as the Chairman since 
the summer of 1892. In politics he acts in- 
dependently of party, giving his support to 
whatever candidates and principles he may 
think the circumstances of the time demand. 




UFUS P. KEITH, Vice-President of 



the extensive cor|)oration of the Pres- 
■^ V ^ ton B. Keith Shoe Company, and 
clerk of the South Congregational Church of 
Campello, in Brockton township, was born in 
Campello, March 2, 1851. His parents were 
Charles Perkins and Mary (Williams) Keith. 
His paternal grandfather, Charles Keith, a 
farmer and shoemaker, was also a prominent 
Congregational ist, a member of the South 
Church of Brockton, one of the founders of the 
Campello church, and a teacher in the Sun- 
day-school. He married Mehitable Perkins, 
and reared a family of five children. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



iSi 



Charles Perkins Keith was a lifelong resi- 
dent of Brockton, formerly North Hridgewatcr, 
and was engaged in the leading industry of the 
place — manufacturing shoes — until 1873. 
He, too, was connected with the South Con- 
gregational Church, and was 1 liberal in its 
support. He died July 12, 1893, aged 
seventy-three years. His wife, who was a 
daughter of Josiah Williams, of West Bridge- 
water, died in 1884, aged si.\ty-two years. 
.She left three children, namely: Sarah W., 
wife of Fred W. Park, of Campello; Preston 
B. , shoe manufacturer of Campello; and 
Kufus P., the special subject of this biographi- 
cal sketch. 

Rufus P. Keith acquired his education in 
his native town, finishing with a three years' 
course in the high school. He went to work 
at the age of eighteen in his father's factory, 
remaining until 1872, when he assumed charge 
of his brother's work-rooms. The business 
conducted by the Keith brothers is a flourish- 
ing one, having increased twelvefold since 
they took charge of it. In the beginning they 
employed twenty-five or thirty men, and they 
now have three hundred hands at work. 

Mr. Keith was married in October, 1880, to 
a daughter of Jonathan Keith, a distant rela- 
tion. She died in 1893, aged thirty-six years, 
leaving one child, Clara May; and in April, 
1896, Mr. Keith was united with Mrs. Sarah 
C. Reed Blades, daughter of the Hon. Will- 
iam L. Reed, and widow of the Rev. John T. 
Blades, a former pastor of the Campello South 
Congregational Church. 

Mr. Keith, who is a Republican, has filled 
the office of Deputy Warden of Ward 3. He 
has been Treasurer of St. George Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., for a number of years, and was 
Master some two years; and he belongs to 
Satuckct Royal Arch Chapter. A member of 
the South Congregational Church since a boy 



in his teens, he has been Clerk of the church a 
number of years, and a member of the Parish 
Committee seven or eight years. 




DWIN PUTNAM (HJIASON, M.D.. 
who has recently settled in Brockton, 
Mass., is a well-qualified physician 
and surgeon, a graduate of the Harvanl Medi- 
cal School. He was born in Washington, 
D. C, May 3, 1866, and is a .son of the Rev. 
John F. and Olive M. (Jefferds) Gleason. 
Dr. Gleason, on his father's side, claims 
descent from General Israel Putnam of Revo- 
lutionary fame, and on his mother's side from 
John Alden, who came to Plymouth in the 
"Mayflower," and from Thomas Dudley, one 
of the early governors of Massachusetts Col- 
ony. His father, the Rev. John F. Gleason, 
was born in Bedford, Mass., and now lives in 
Amherst. For thirty years a preacher, he be- 
lieved in battling for the right in deed as well 
as word ; for during the war he served four 
years and a half in the Twenty-second Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His 
wife is a native of Middleton, Mass. 

Edwin Putnam Gleason passed the first six 
years of his life in the national capital. His 
parents then removing to Williamsburg, 
Mass., he attended school there four years; 
and he subsequently lived for nine or ten 
years in Norfolk, Conn., attending Norfolk 
Academy, Williston Seminary, Ea.sthampton, 
Mass., and Amherst College. At the Har- 
vard Medical School he took the regular 
course in the class of 1890; and immediately 
after receiving his degree he opened an office 
in Cambridge, Mass., where he remained about 
a year and a half. He was subsequently 
appointed to the medical staff of the Brooklyn 
Sanitarium, previous to which he passed the 
exacting examinations of the New York Uni- 



lS2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



versity Regents, this making him a legal prac- 
titioner in that State. After a brief practice 
in Rockland, Mass., he in 1896 located at 
1 106, Main Street, Campello, Brockton, 
where he now has a general practice, steadily 
increasing. He is a member of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society. A Republican 
since his majority, he has taken an active 
interest in politics. Dr. Gleason was married 
in 1895 to Miss Sadie L. Harlow, of Whit- 
man, Mass. He is a Mason, belonging to 
Charles A. Welch Lodge, of Maynard, Mass. 
In religious belief he is a Congregationalist, 
being a member of that church and of the 
Young People's Society of Christian En- 
deavor. 




'REDERICK W. ROBBINS, formerly 
a well-known merchant of Plymouth 
and a veteran of the Civil War, died at 
his home in this town, January 20, 1884. He 
was born in Plymouth, August 24, 1826, son 
of Deacon Josiah and Rebecca (Jackson) Rob- 
bins, and was a representative of an old Colo- 
nial family, whose founder was Nicholas Rob- 
bins, of Duxbury, 1638. 

As the proprietor of Robbins's Rope Walk, 
Josiah Robbins was for many years a conspic- 
uous figure among the business men of Plym- 
outh ; and he was one of the most prominent 
supporters of the Orthodox church, of which he 
was Deacon for a long period. He was four 
times married, and he reared six children, five 
of whom were by his third wife, Rebecca 
Jackson, who was a native of Plymouth ; and 
of these Frederick W. , the subject of this 
sketch, was the third-born. 

Frederick W. Robbins completed his educa- 
tional course at a Marlboro boarding-school, 
and for a short time afterward was employed 
in a retail grocery store in Boston. Returning 
to Plymouth, he entered the general store car- 



ried on by his father in connection with the 
Rope Walk, and which, after coming into his 
possession, was managed by himself and a 
brother for some time. He later engaged in 
the wholesale grocery business, which he con- 
ducted for about one year, or until the break- 
ing out of the Civil War; and in August, 
1861, he enlisted in the company commanded 
by Captain Callingwood, which formed a part 
of the Eighteenth Regiment, Massachusetts 
Volunteers. Being near-sighted, he was pre- 
vented from entering the ranks as a regular 
soldier, but was eligible to the post of Com- 
missary of his company, in which capacity he 
served with ability for three years, accompany- 
ing the regiment through its various campaigns 
and battles. He thus contracted fever and 
ague, from which he never fully recovered. 

After his discharge from the army in 1864 
he returned home, and was obliged to pass 
a year in convalescing. He then went to 
New Berne, N. C, where in company with his 
brother he engaged in the grocery business, 
later becoming interested in a cotton planta- 
tion and the operating of cotton gins. P"rom 
North Carolina he went to Texas, where his 
stay was of short duration; and, returning to 
Plymouth, he passed his last days among his 
kindred and friends, dying at the age of fifty- 
seven years. He was an exceedingly upright, 
conscientious business man, whose many ster- 
ling qualities endeared him to all with whom 
he came in contact. He possessed a natural 
desire for progress and the development of 
business enterprises. For a number of years 
he was an active member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, being a comrade of the post in 
New Berne, N. C. 

On August 21, 1850, Mr. Robbins was 
united in marriage with Mary Wade, who sur- 
vives him. She was born in Boston, daughter 
of John and Mary (Dolbear) Wade, the former 




JARVIS BURRELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



•8S 



ol whom \v:is a native of WcynioiUli, and a 
boat-buiklcr by trade, who was connected with 
the United States Navy Yard at Charlestown, 
Mass., for eighteen years. lie married for his 
first wife Mary b'lancis, and fur his second 
Mary Dnibear, cf Unston ; and his family 
consisted of eiglit chilihen, seven sons and one 
daughter, Mrs. i\(ibbins being the tiiird of 
four children born of his second union. The 
Wade family were Unitarians, and attended 
the church in Charlestown which was formerly 
presided over by the Rev. Dr. Walker, and 
later by the Rev. George K. VAWs. 

Mrs. Robbins in her girlhood attended the 
public schools of Charlestown, Mass., later 
entering a private schoul ; and her studies were 
com])leted at the Charlestown Female Semi- 
nary. Her married life was exceedingly 
happ\', her love and de\'otion to her husband 
having been returned with the deepest and 
most sincere affection. They became the par- 
ents of seven children, five of whom died 
young. The sLn\nvors arc : ^Abbic J., wile ol 
George M. Gifford, a tailor of i'lymouth ; and 
George J., a carpenter of Whitman. 

Mrs. Robbins is prominently identified with 
tiie Ladies' Relief Corps connected with Call- 
ingwood I'ost, Grand Army of the Republic, 
of I'lymouth, having been a member of several 
visiting committees, ant! i)eing much inl/jr- 
estcd in tiie corps antl its work. 



f^ARVIS RURRICLL, the present Town 
Treasurer of Ivist Bridgewater, Plym- 
outh County, Mass., and a prominent 
business man, is a native of West Hridge- 
water. 

He was born June 15, 1828, his jnrents 
being Jarvis i). and Nancy H. (Howard) Hur- 
rell. ^ His maternal great-grandfather, Leavitt 
Thayer, was a Revolutionary soldier and pen- 



sioner. (See muster roll, Captain Abner 
Crane's Comi)any, 1779, State Archives.) ^ 

Jarvis U. Hurrell, whose birth occurred in 
1798, was for many years a merchant in Ran- 
dolph, Mass. He was also prominently iden- 
tified with the militia, of which he i)ecame a 
major, and was familiarly known as Major 
Biurell. In politics he was a Free Soiler. 
He lived to be eighty-eight years old. Five 
Af his children survived him, namely: Jarvis; 
Sarah T., the widow of the late Josiah l^acon, 
of Hoston, Mass. ; Nancy J., who died Sep- 
tember 17, 1S94; ICmily L., now living in 
West Bridgewater; and Uaviil T. , of Brock- 
ton, I\Iass. 

f After acquiring a practical common-school 
education, Jarvis Burrell, in his eighteenth 
year, began learning the blacksmith's trade 
in West Bridgewater; and he followed that 
occupation for over three years. Subse- 
quently, in 1850, he came to East Bridge- 
water, and entered the emjiloy of E. Carver & 
Co., cotton gill manufacturers, whose business 
is now carried on under the name of the 
Carver Cotton Gin Company. He worked as 
a machinist up to 1856, when he began travel- 
ling through the South as salesman and agent, 
following this until 1861, when the breaking 
out of the war put an enil to the business for a 
time. . He afterward entered their shop -as 
a cTraughtsman and experimenter, and several 
years later, being made foreman of their iron 
department, held that position soiue time. So 
that altogether he was in the employ of the 
Carver Cotton Ciin Ct)mpany over forty-five 
years. 

Mr. Burrell made valuable improvements on 
the machine for cutting moulding for marble 
slabs for shelves and marble tops on furniture. 
It was jilaced on exhibition at the Mechanics' 
Fair in Boston, and [iroved a great success, the 
marble manufacturers testifying that it did 



i86 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the work of from twelve to fifteen men without 
an increase in the cost of the tools. The 
Labor Committee waited on Mr. Burrell, in- 
forming him that he had better take his ma- 
chines away, as they were robbing men of work. 
He replied that he should still continue the 
machines; and with characteristic pluck he 
adhered to this resolution, and finally suc- 
ceeded in convincing the committee that the 
men had no less work than before, though 
much more was accomplished in the same 
time. Mr. Burrell also made improvements 
on steam gauges, taking out a patent which 
was sold to the steam gauge manufacturers. 
For several years now he has carried on a 
printing business, getting out cards of all 
kinds, circulars, pamphlets, and catalogues. 
His inventive ability has shown itself in this 
department of business also; and Curtis & 
Mitchell, of Boston, deceased, when living, 
had control of his improvements in this line, 
and sold thousands of the presses that embody 
his improvements. '^ 

Mr. Burrell married Sarah A. Snell, of 
West Bridgewater, and by her has had four 
children, namely: Ina L. (deceased), wife of 
Fred C. Nutter, who left one child, Maude C, 
who was nineteen years of age June 27, 1896; 
Alice M., wife of F. O. Keith ; Lura J., wife 
of A. G. Waterman; and George A., who 
married Louise M. Keith. 

Mr. Burrell is a Republican in politics. 
Under a former school law he was Secretary 
and Treasurer of the School Board. In 1893 
he was elected Town Treasurer, and he has 
been re-elected annually up to the present 
time. He is a member of the East Bridge- 
water Improvement and Social Club. Frater- 
nally, he is a charter member of Satucket 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of East Bridgewater, 
having originally been a member of Fellow- 
ship Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Bridgewater, 



from which he withdrew to join the former. 
He is also a charter member and Treasurer of 
Harmony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, at 
Bridgewater, and is a member of the Old Col- 
ony Commandcry, Knights Templars, at Ab- 
ington. Few enjoy in a higher degree the 
respect and confidence of the community than 
does Mr. Burrell. 



^OHN C. GARDNER, a well-known 
native resident of Hingham, is a de- 
scendant of one of the town's early 
settlers. He was born on September 13, 
1839, son of Enoch W. and Orra A. (Amadon) 
Gardner. He is a representative of a family 
said to be of Scotch origin, which has resided 
in Hingham for seven generations; and his 
lineage can be traced through Enoch W., 
Samuel, third, Samuel, second, Samuel, first, 
and Francis, to John Garnet, that being an 
early form of the family name. 

John Garnet was the founder of this branch 
of the family in America. His son Francis, 
who was born in Hingham, March 31, 1653, 
resided in this town, and was a soldier in 
Captain Johnson's company at the great Nar- 
ragansett fight in December, 1675. He mar- 
ried Joanna, daughter of Samuel May, of Rox- 
bury, January 5, 1681 ; and, of their two chil- 
dren, Samuel, first, the ne.xt in line, was the 
eldest. Samuel Garnet was born in Hingham, 
August 14, 1684. He was married first on 
February 4, 1713, to Ruth Tower; and second, 
December 12, 1728, to Ann Clark. Samuel 
Garnet was the first of seven children. He 
was born in this town, November 17, 1715; 
and it was during his generation that the fam- 
ily name was changed to Gardner, which, 
according to the records, has existed since 
1740. In 1738 he married Abigail Simmons, 
of Scituate; and they had a family of five chil- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



187 



(Iron, (if wlidin Samuel, tliiid, was the third- 
born. 

Samuel Gardner, thiril, granillathcr of John 
C., was reared to farm life in Iliiigham; and 
he alsi) learned the c(i(i]ier's trade, which he 
fiillowed in connection with tilling the soil. 
He was the owner of consiilerable real estate, 
and was energetic and prosperous. He lived 
to attain the age of eighty-seven years, and 
dicti December 24, 1S31. He was a Whig in 
politics, and served as Constable for many 
years. He attended the Unitarian church. 
He was twice married, first to Alathen Oak- 
man, of Marshfield, January 6, 1774, and sec- 
ond to Chloe, daughter of Captain Enoch 
W'hiton, of IHngham, August 23, 1789; and 
of the six children by this marriage Enoch W. 
was the eldest. Mrs. Samuel Gardner died in 
1833, at the age of ^venty-five years. 

luioch W. Gardner, John C. Gardner's 
father, was born in IHngham, May ii, i/QO. 
When a young man, he learned the trade of a 
mason, which he followed through the active 
period of his life, his earlier years being spent 
in Boston. He was an industrious man, and 
a worthy, upright citizen, who labored dili- 
gently for the purpose of providing his faniil)' 
with a comfortable home. He died March 31, 
1864. He was a Whig in politics, and he 
attended the Universalist church. His wife, 
Orra A. Amadon, became the mother of three 
children, of whom the only survivor is John 
C. , the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Orra A. 
Gardner died January 7, 1876. 

John C. Gardner attended the public schools 
of Hingham, and after completing his studies 
he began to learn the mason's trade with his 
father. He worked as a journeyman for a 
year, and then went to Boston, where he ac- 
quired the trade of a paper-hanger. He was 
employed in Boston for some sixteen years, at 
the expiration of which time he returned to 



his native town, and has since resided at the 
homestead. He is still actively engaged in 
the ])aper-hanging business, and has won a 
high reinitation as a skilful and reliable 
workman. 

On December 21, 1868, Mr. Gardner 
wedded Mr.s. I fenrietta (;. (Webb) HIdridge, 
a daughter of Ilezekiah T. and l-Imily (Clark) 
Webb. Of the two children born to Mrs. 
Gardner the survivor is Mary G., who was 
born December 12, 1869, and is the wife of 
Arthur Curtis, of Norwel), Mass. 

In politics Mr. Gardner is a Republican. 
He has served with ability as a member of the 
School Committee; was elected a Selectman 
in 1895, was re-elected in 1896; and has also 
served as an Assessor and Overseer of the 
Poor. He is connected with Old Colony 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and with Old Colony 
Lodge, No. 108, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Hingham. 



Y^OT S. LUCAS, a respected resident of 
IJT Carver, who has been a successful 
-^ teacher, merchant, and farmer, was 
born August 29, 1831, on the farm he now 
occupies, son of Abijah and Hannah (Shurt- 
leff) Lucas. Abijah Lucas, like many men of 
his day in New F^ngland, combined the call- 
ings of shoemaking and farming. He entered 
upon the farm when a young man, and died 
there May 2, 1849, aged fifty-nine years. His 
estimable wife attained the age of eighty-two, 
dying March 4, 1876. They were the parents 
of five children, namely: Mary, who died in 
infancy; Horatio, who has also passed away; 
Mary, the second child bearing that name; 
Abbie, likewise deceased; and Lot S., the 
subject of this sketch. 

Lot S. Lucas was reared on the farm. 
After receiving his education in the district 



i88 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



school and at Midcllcboro Academy, he began 
to teach, being then sixteen years of age. In 
this profession he was very successful, re- 
ducing to discipline even the "big boys" 
who make life a burden to a weak teacher. 
Having taught for fifteen years in Plymouth 
County, he moved in 1857 to New Bedford; 
and in that city he conducted a wholesale fruit 
store for ten years, catering to a large trade. 
He then came to his present home, where he 
is now engaged in cranberry culture, the great 
industry of Plymouth County. By sagacious 
management he generally succeeds in obtain- 
ing superior crops. 

Mr. Lucas has been twice married. His 
first marriage was contracted with Laura E. 
Atwood, daughter of Levi Atwood, of Middle- 
boro. On the second occasion he married 
Maria L. Cornell, daughter of Abishia and 
Susan C. Harding, of Middleboro. She died 
January 14, 1892, aged forty-six years, leaving 
one daughter — Alice B. Cornell, born May 3, 
1874, at Dartmouth, Mass., and is living with 
her father. Believing in the elevating power 
of religion, he has long been a member of the 
Baptist church ; and he is widely known and 
esteemed. 

JOSEPH FRAME, M.D., of Rockland, 
is of Scotch parentage, the son of 
Alexander and Susanna (Annand) 
Frame, and was born at Shubenacadie, N. S. , 
October 23, 1866. 

He received his early education in the pub- 
lic schools and Provincial Normal School. 
Having decided to study medicine, he came 
to Massachusetts in 1888, and spent the two 
succeeding years at the McLean Hospital in 
Somerville. He entered the Harvard Medical 
School, and, after taking the prescribed course, 
was graduated in 1894. Succeeding in a com- 
petitive examination, he was appointed First 



Surgical House Officer at the l?oston City 
Hospital for a period of eighteen months. 
Soon after the completion of his term in the 
hospital he became associated in practice with 
Dr. C. S. Millet in Rockland. 

Dr. Frame is a member of the Boston City 
Hospital Medical Society and the Massachu- 
setts Medical Society. He belongs to the 
order of Knights of Pythias and the United 
Order of the Golden Cross. 



T^IIARLES EDWARD WEST, a well- 
l \/ known merchant of Hingham, was 
Vl^^.^ born in Wakefield, N.H., January 
27, 1853, son of Edward and Sophronia (Farn- 
ham) West. His father, who was a native of 
Bridgeport, Conn., and followed farming in 
his early life, removed in 1847, when a young 
man, to Wakefield, N.H. In politics Edward 
West was a Republican. He married So- 
phronia, a daughter of Paul Farnham, of that 
town; and they had two children — Lizzie J. 
and Charles PZdward. Lizzie J. married 
Frank M. Thompson, of Effingham, N.H. 
At the beginning of the Civil War the father 
enlisted in Company A, Fortieth Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, as private. 
He went to the front from Lawrence, Mass., 
afterward winning promotion to the rank of 
Sergeant. Having been wounded in the skir- 
mish at Drury's Bluff, Va., he died subse- 
quently in Castle Thunder Prison at Rich- 
mond. His wife's death occurred in 1880. 

After acquiring his education in the schools 
of his native town, Charles Edward West re- 
mained at home until he was eighteen years 
of age. He then went to Boston, and learned 
the trade of carpenter, which enterprise he fol- 
lowed for four years. In 1874 he established 
at West's Corner in Hingham a general mer- 
chandise store, which he has since conducted 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



■ R9 



alone, except for one year, during vvliich he 
had a partner. The business has been very 
successful. Two years ago he started a 
branch store at Point Allerton, Mass., which 
has likewise been a financial success. In pol- 
itics Mr. West affiliates with the Republican 
party. He has membership in Old Colony 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Mingham; in Old 
Colony Lodge, No. 108, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, of Hingham, and Trimount En- 
campment, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, of Boston; in the Royal Arcanum, 
Warren Council, No. 103, of Boston; in Loyal 
Additional Benefit, No. 81, of Boston Coun- 
cil; in the Sons of Veterans, Charles S. Mead 
Camp, No. 72; and in Nantaskct Lodge of 
Good Templars. 

On November 25, 1875, Mr. West and Ilat- 
tie L. Beal joined hands and hearts at the mar- 
riage altar. She was a daughter of Zaccheus 
L. Beal, a native of Cohasset, Mass. By this 
union there are two boys: Harold R., born 
August, 1876; and Alfred F., born in July, 
1881. Mr. West is liberal in his religious 
belief. Mrs. West is a member of the Con- 
gregational church. 




AMU1-:L KICITII, the President of 
the l^ast Bridgewater Savings Bank, 
is a member of an old and promi- 
nent family of Plymouth County. Descended 
from the Rev. James Keith, one of the first 
ministers of Eastern Massachusetts, he was 
born May 12, 1830, in East Bridgewater, son 
of Zebina and Rebecca (Witherill) Keith. 
Zebina, a son of Calvin Keith, was also born 
in East Bridgewater. He was for a number 
of years engaged in the manufacture of tacks 
in this town, took much interest in local pol- 
itics, voting with the Democrats, and died 
July 3, 1880. His wife, who was a native of 



Pembroke, Mass., passed away in 1842. Of 
their family three sons are living — Zebina, 
Samuel, and Henry — all residents of East 
Bridgewater. 

Samuel Keith was educated in his native 
town, attending public and private schools. 
He went to work at the age of eighteen in his 
father's tack factory, of which he became the 
superintendent after learning the business. 
In 1855, on the retirement of his father, he 
and his brother Zebina took charge of the 
place, and conducted it under the firm name of 
Z. Keith, Jr., & Co. In 1873, when the fac- 
tory was destroyed by fire, he retired from the 
firm. He has been connected with the East 
Bridgewater Savings Bank since its establish- 
ment; and, before entering on his present re- 
lations with it, he served it successively as a 
member of the Investment Committee, and for 
a number of years as Vice-President. He has 
been the President since 1889. The bank 
is an old and reliable one, and Mr. Keith 
has the esteem and confidence of the com- 
munity. 

In November, 1S57, Mr. Keith was united 
in marriage with Miss Augusta Swallow, 
daughter of Harrison Swallow, of Buckfield, 
Me. She died March 15, 1880, leaving three 
children. These are: Samuel A., who is a 
clerk in the Carver Cotton Gin Works at East 
Bridgewater; Fred, who also resides here; 
anil Amy, the widow of Fred G. Bonney, late 
of liast Bridgewater. Mr. Keith, like his 
father, is a firm supporter of Democratic prin- 
ciples, while he is respected by the members 
of both the political parties in his native 
town, lie has served for eighteen years as 
Superintemlent of Highways of East Bridge- 
water. None of the business men whose 
fathers and grandfathers have helped to build 
up East Bridgewater is held in more general 
esteem. 



igo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




"GRACE B. MAGLATHLIN, a prom- 
inent manufacturer at Silver Lake, 

L^ ^^ in the town of Kingston, Mass., 

was born August 15, 1852, son of Peter W. 
and Marcia (Bradford) Maglathlin. This 
well-known Plymouth County family was 
founded by John Maglathlin, a Scotchman, who 
settled in Kingston in the eighteenth century. 
He died in this town in 1772, and his mortal 
remains were buried in the old cemetery. 
From him the descent continues in a direct 
line through Joseph and his son, Peter W., 
finst, to Peter W., second, Mr. H. B. Maglath- 
lin's father. The grandfather was a mariner, 
and died at sea. 

Peter VV. Maglathlin, second, who was a 
lifelong resident of Kingston, worked at the 
trade of a ship calker in connection with farm- 
ing. He followed the majority of the Whig 
element into the Republican party at its for- 
mation. An intelligent and highly respected 
citizen, he served for some time on the School 
Committee. He died in the seventies. He 
was twice married. Of his children the sur- 
vivors are: Harvey W., Philemon W. , Onslow 
W., Edwin L., and Horace B., the subject of 
this sketch— all of whom reside in Kings- 
ton; Angle, wife of Elliott Blanchard, of 
Turner, Me.; and Helen A., wife of Barker 
Baker, of North Hanson, Mass. Mrs. Marcia 
Bradford Maglathlin was a native of Maine. 

Horace B. Maglathlin was educated in the 
public schools of Kingston, and at the age of 
eighteen he began to serve an apprenticeship 
with P. C. Reed, a tack manufacturer at Silver 
Lake. After serving three years, he worked 
for a time as a journeyman, and in 1878 
ene;ag:ed in business on his own account in 
Bridgewater. A year later his factory was 
accidentally destroyed by fire, caused by 
another occupant of the building; and in 1879 
he erected his present plant at Silver Lake, 



and resumed business. His factory is fully 
equipped with improved machinery for pro- 
ducing all kinds of tacks and nails, and when 
running on full time employs eighteen hands. 

In 1874 Mr. Maglathlin was united in mar- 
riage with Eleanor T. Ford, daughter of Levi 
Ford, of Kingston, who was formerly a resi- 
dent of Du.xbury. Mr. and Mrs. Maglathlin 
have two children ; namely, Fred B. and 
Lucy D. 

As an able and foresighted business man, 
Mr. Maglathlin has been very successful 
financially and his investments have proved 
exceedingly profitable. He owns seventy-five 
acres of valuable land in Kingston, one hun- 
dred and sixty-one acres in the town of Hali- 
fax, and in company with John Foster, of 
South Hanson, owns a large tract of land 
located on Marshfield Beach. This property 
is known as Webster Park, and fifteen summer 
cottages have been erected there. He is also 
the owner of a productive cranberry bog of six 
acres at Silver Lake. 

In politics Mr. Maglathlin is a Republican, 
and for three years was a member of the 
.School Board of Kingston. He is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he 
serves in an official capacity, and as a public- 
spirited citizen he is a liberal contributor to 
the church and other deserving objects. 



/^STkORGE LOVELL RICHARDSON, 
V |ST Chairman of the Board of Selectmen 
of Abington, Mass., has achieved 
success as an educator and as a man of busi- 
ness. He was born in East Medway (now 
Millis), Mass., March 9, 1838, a son of 
Joseph L. and Sylvia Pond (Partridge) Rich- 
ardson. 

His father, Joseph L. Richardson, who was 
born in East Medway, Mass., July 11, 1815, 




HORACE B. MAGLATHLIN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'93 



was a farmer. lie died February 13, 1885. 
Mis wife, Sylvia, was born in Franklin, De- 
cember 22, 1816, and is now living in Milton, 
Mass. They had three children — George L., 
Joseph H., and Ellen Maria. The latter died 
about seventeen years ago. Joseph H. Rich- 
ard.son is with S. S. Pierce & Co., Boston, 
and is living with his wife in the same city. 

George Lovell Richardson grew to maturity 
on his father's farm. He received a liberal 
education, attending the .Medway High School 
and Monson Academy, taking one year's 
course of study at Amherst College and three 
years at Dartmouth College, where he was 
graduated in 1862. He taught some twenty- 
five years, from 1863 to 1S88, in the high 
school at Sherborn and the Centre High School 
at Abington, and then engaged in the wood 
business, which has occupied his attention 
since 1888. He is a man of good judgment in 
financial matters, and has been for some time 
a Trustee and a memi^cr of the Board of In- 
vestment of the Abington Savings Bank. In 
the quarter of a century devoted to educational 
work Mr. Richardson, continually widening 
his circle of acquaintance as new classes came 
under his direction, drew to himself many 
friends, and won the confidence and respect of 
all with whom he had dealings; and his career 
as a business man has in no wise lessened the 
favorable impression of his character and abil- 
ities made at that time. 

He has been twice married. In 1864, in 
Medway, he was united with Amelia B. Boyd, 
who died July 19, 1879, leaving two children: 
Joseph L. , now a resident of Needham, Mass.; 
and I'"red B., in Brnokline. In December, 
1880, Mr. Richardson married Alice A. Giles, 
daughter of Jesse H. Giles, of Abington. He 
has no children by the second union. 

Mr. Richardson has been Chairman of the 
Abington Board of Selectmen for the past 



seven years. He is a member of John Cutler 
Lodge. A. F. & A. M.; Pilgrim Royal Arch 
Chapter; Abington Council ; and Old Colony 
Commandery, Knights Templars, and formerly 
took an active part in the chapter. 




RKN THOMAS WHITING, a farmer 
and shoemaker of Hanover, and one of 
those who fought for the Union in the 
Civil War, was born August 28, 1834, in the 
house where he now lives, son of Oren and 
Mary (Jones) Whiting. He began working at 
the shoemaker's bench when a child of si.'v 
years, and thereafter followed that occupation 
steadily until the commencement of the Civil 
War. In response to one of the early calls 
for men, he enlisted for nine months in Com- 
pany A of the Third Massachusetts Infantry, 
and was mustered into service at Lakeville as 
a private. He participated in the battles of 
Kingston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro. At the 
end of his first term of enlistment he was hon- 
orably discharged, and returned home. In 
1864 he enlisted again, this time in Company 
E, First Battalion of Massachusetts Heavy 
Artillery, with which he did guartl duty over 
rebel prisoners at Fort Warren until 1865. 
He was then discharged with the rank of Cor- 
poral, to which he had been promoted. After 
his return home he resumed his trade, and 
thereafter followed it until 1888. .Mr. Whit- 
ing has resided on his present homestead since 
1865. The property contains about seventy- 
five acres. Here he is engaged in general 
farming and dairying, and also sells wood by 
retail. He is an adherent of the Republican 
party, and a member of Post No. 83. Grand 
Army of the Reimblic of Hanover. In 1851 
Mr. Whiting was joined in marriage with 
Miss Lucy J. Hatch, who has borne him si.\ 
children, of whom three sons are living; 



194 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



namely, Elwin T., Arthur L., and Erwin E. 
Two sons and their only daughter have passed 
away. These were Albert, Wilder, and 
Minnie J. Whiting. 




ILLIAM R. GROCE, the efficient 
superintendent of the Rockland 
Water Works, was born June 24, 
1843, in the town of Abington, now Rockland, 
the second son and the fourth child of Nathan- 
iel S. and Lucy Ann (Ripley) Groce. 
Nathaniel S. Groce, who was a native of Han- 
over, passed the first years of his life there, 
and then moved to Rockland. A worthy citi- 
zen, by trade a shoemaker, he toiled industri- 
ously to the close of his life, and died at the 
age of sixty-one years. He married Lucy 
Ann Ripley, and by her became the father of 
eight children, seven of whom are now living. 
Four of these reside in Rockland, one is in 
Washington, D.C., and another is a teacher 
in the city of Boston. His wife died in 1894, 
at the age of eighty years. 

William R. Groce was brought up in his 
native town, receiving but a moderate educa- 
tion because of his father's limited means. 
Since then he has added largely to his stock 
of knowledge by reading, and by making the 
most of his powers of observation and practical 
contact with the world at large. At the age 
of ten he began to earn his own living, and by 
his thirteenth year he had ceased to attend 
school. Until September, 1862, he worked 
for the most part on the home farm or at shoe- 
making. Desiring then to serve in the Civil 
War, he enlisted in the Forty-third Massachu- 
setts Infantry, Company G, for nine months, 
and went to the front. Later he re-enlisted in 
the Sixtieth Regiment, Company A, Massa- 
chusetts Infantry. He saw much hard fight- 
ing, suffered a good deal from the fatigues and 



privations of camj) life, returned home in a 
poor physical condition, and resumed his old 
trade of shoemaking. In April, 1887, he be- 
came the superintendent of the Rockland 
Water Works, which supplies water to the 
towns of Rockland and Abington. The water 
was first turned on in January, 1887, when the 
builders had charge, Mr. Groce being the first 
superintendent. He has since retained his 
position, and proved himself thoroughly compe- 
tent, giving general satisfaction to the public. 
Mr. Groce married Miss Nannie E. Wads- 
worth, a daughter of Louis S. and Nancy B. 
Wadsworth, of Plymouth. By her he became 
the father of three children — Gertrude W., 
Clara Ripley, and Nathaniel S. The latter 
was so named after his grandfather. In poli- 
tics Mr. Groce is known as one of the "wheel 
horses" in the Republican ]3arty in this town. 
He has been on the Republican Committee of 
the town of Rockland since its organization, 
and has served as its Chairman for the past 
four years. His judgment is much relied 
upon, and his advice is much sought, both on 
general as well as political questions. He is 
a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
belonging to Hartsuff Post, No. 74, of Rock- 
land. He is also a member of the Royal 
Arcanum and of the Rockland Commercial 
Club, which has done so much of late years 
for the business interests of the town. 



II^|EV. NEHEMIAH LINCOLN, pastor 
of the Congregational church of North 




Carver, was born in North Bridge- 
water, July 21, 1824. His father. Captain 
Nehemiah Lincoln, who was a native of the 
same town, and served in the War of 1S12, 
was married twice. His first wife, in 
maidenhood Martha Packard, bore him no 
children. Left by her death a childless 



BIOGK MMIICAL RKVIEW 



•95 



widower, he formed a secoiul marriage with 
Miss Meiiitable lulson, by whom he became 
the fatlier of four chilcben. These were : Ne^ 
hemiah, Uaniel, David, and Amelia. The 
latter is a teacher in one of the New Bedford 
schools. 

Nehemiah Lincoln, who was reared on his 
father's farm, at the age of fourteen began to 
learn the shoemaker's trade, and afterward 
followed it for about ten years. Now deciding 
to eckicate himself for the gospel ministry, 
feeling drawn thereto by an inspiration he 
dared not resist, he abandoned his trade, and 
entered Andovcr Academy. Shortly after his 
eyes began to fail him, anti he fmnid it neces- 
sary to discontinue his studies. Taking his 
affliction patiently, he engaged in teaching, 
which he followed for two or three years in 
Raynham, Abington, I'^ast Hridgewater, and 
North Hridgewater, and afterward in New Ikd- 
ford for twenty years. At the end of that 
time the desire of his youth, which he had all 
along cherished, was accomplished. lie was 
ailmitted to the ministry of the Congregational 
church. Soon after his installation he went 
to North Rridgeton, where he had charge of 
two churches for over si.xteen years. In De- 
cember of 18S7 he came to North Carver, of 
whose society he has since been the pastor. 

In 1847 the Rev. \. Lincoln was married 
to Miss Cornelia Hay ward. The union was 
blessed by five children — Llla, Lucia, Clara, 
Ilattie, and Edward. Ilattie is no longer liv- 
ing. Edward, who is a dentist, practises his 
profession in Fitchiiurg, Mass. Entering the 
ministry late in life, Mr. Lincoln has given 
to it all the best energies of his maturer judg- 
ment and experience. In the quarter of a cen- 
tury that has since elapsed he has been em- 
ployed in well-directed and fruitful efforts to 
make those among whom his lot has been cast 
lead wiser, better, and happier lives. 




ACE HARTI.iiTT, a resident of 
West Hridgewater, and one of the 
defenders of the Union in the time 
of its greatest need, was born here, April 
1 8, 1837, son of Job and Mary (Jackson) 
Hartlett. David Hartlett, the grandfather of 
Horace, was a .son of Samuel, the founder of 
the Hartlett family in Hridgewater. Samuel's 
father was Wright Hartlett, who probably 
lived in the earlier part <if the last century. 

Tiic grandfather, David Hartlett, who was 
born in 1778, served in the War of 1813, dur- 
ing which he was stationed for a time at Plym- 
outh, Mass., and was afterward granted a 
pension by the government. He died in his 
ninetieth year. Job Hartlett was a native and 
a lifelong resident of We.st Hridgewater. He 
served as Selectman for a number of years, 
and died in I S67. His wife, Mary, who was 
born on territory now within the limits of 
Hrockton, bore him four children, three of 
whom are living, namely: Mary, the widow 
of Lewis Lincoln, of Norton, Mass. ; Samuel ; 
and Horace. Henry died in August, 1864. 
Formerly a Whig, in later years Job Hartlett 
supported the Republican party. 

The youth of Horace Hartlett was spent on 
the farm which is now his home. He at- 
tended the common school for a time, but his 
education has been chiefly acquired in the 
school of practical experience. When 'eigh- 
teen years old, he began learning the trade of 
an iron moulder, which he afterward followed 
in Hridgewater and West Hridgewater for a 
dozen years altogether. After the death of his 
father he returned to the homestead farm, and 
has since been engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. He has about fifty five acres of land, 
where the principal product is milk, which 
he sells at wholesale. In January, 1864, Mr. 
Hartlett enlisted in Company D, Fifty-eighth 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantrv, with which 



,96 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



he served in the army of the Potomac, taking 
part in the battle of the Wilderness and other 
important engagements, including the terrible 
struggle around Petersburg, where he was 
under fire most of the time. He was honor- 
ably discharged in July, 1865, since which he 
has been engaged as described above. 

On January 27, 1869, Mr. l^artlett married 
Abigail Howard, a daughter of Charles How- 
ard, of West Bridgewater, Mass. Three of 
their four children are living; namely, Henry, 
Helen, and Jane. Annie died February 6, 
1 87 1, age eight months and twenty-seven days. 
Mr. Bartlett is identified with the Masonic 
order, being a member of Fellowship Lodge, 
Bridgewater; Satucket Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons, Brockton ; and Bay State Commandery, 
Knights Templars, of Brockton. He is also a 
member of the Knights of Pythias of West 
Bridgewater, of the Knights of Honor of 
Bridgewater, and of the West Bridgewater 
Grange. He served his town as Highway Sur- 
veyor for a number of years, and he has always 
taken pride in furthering its welfare. He and 
his family are highly esteemed in social 
circles. 



■f^TENRY ALLEN BRETT, a salesman 
\'^\ of the clothing firm of Howard & 

L® V» , Caldwell, of Brockton, is one of 

the most popular men in the city. He was 
born in North Bridgewater, April 4, 1830, 
son of Zenas and Sybil (p-rench) Brett. The 
Brett family has been long established in this 
county. Henry Allen's great-grandfather, 
Samuel Brett, a native of North Bridgewater, 
was there engaged for a number of years in 
agriculture. William Brett, the grandfather, 
who was also born in North Bridgewater, spent 
his active life in farming, and owned a very 
large farm. A member of the First Congre- 
gational Church, he was a religious man, lived 



up to the teachings of his church, and died at 
the age of eighty-two. He was twice married. 
His first wife — Mara Allen, of East Bridge- 
water, before marriage — bore him four sons 
and three daughters. His second wife, whose 
maiden name was Betsey Phillips, gave birth 
to four children. 

Zenas Brett, who was the first-born of his 
parents' children, received a common-school 
education. On attaining man's estate he en- 
gaged in farming and also in trade, keeping a 
general store for a number of years in the ]iart 
of Brockton now known as Montello. Al- 
though much engrossed by his own affairs, his 
patriotism caused him to serve in the War of 
1 812. He was a prominent member of the 
First Congregational Church, and in his 
youth was accustomed to read the service at 
the meetings. His death occurred in his 
eighty-fourth year. He, too, was twice mar- 
ried. His first wife, Sybil (French) Brett, 
who was a daughter of William French, of 
Stoughton, died in 1834, aged forty-eight 
years. William French was a prominent mer- 
chant from the age of seventeen. She bore 
him three girls and three boys; namely, Sarah, 
William P"rench, Mary Allen, Zenas Franklin, 
Sybil Alma, and Henry Allen. His second 
wife, Elmira, a daughter of John Packard, of 
North Bridgewater, is now in her ninety-first 
year. She became the mother of five children 
— Mary Ellen, Charles Edward, Cordelia Pal- 
mira, Sarah Adelaide, and George Elmer. Of 
the eleven children four are living — Sybil, 
Henry A., Mary E., and Sarah A. 

Henry Allen Brett studied in the schools of 
North Bridgewater, in Loomis Academy, the 
Adelphian Academy, and the Blanchard Acad- 
emy of Pembroke, N. H., from which he grad- 
uated. He entered the world of trade at the 
age of fourteen, obtaining employment with 
Brett & Kingman, of which firm his brother 




GUSTAVUS ATWOOD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL RKVIKW 



'99 



was the senior jiartiier. Here lie remained 
until he was twenty years old, when he went 
to Lcwiston, Me., and ojicncd a general store. 
This he managed for twM) years; and then for 
the succeeding eight years he conducted a store 
in Wareham, IMass. , carrying a full line of 
general merchandise. On February 14, i860, 
the occasiim of his leaving Wareham, a most 
unii|ue souvenir was tendered liim hy his 
friends. It was a hammered silver pitcher 
made of five and ten cent pieces, melted and 
cast, the coins being contributed l)y his many 
acciuaintances. l-"ebruary 15, 1.S60, he opened 
a store in l^rockton, with general merchandise, 
dry goods, millinery, and hardware, having a 
tailoring and dressmaking establishment at- 
tached. This he managed until he closed up 
his business in icSSo. He was then in the 
em])loy of the Witiierbee-l lill Clothing Com- 
])any on Clark Street, Chicago, one year, aijd 
with Sidney Packard's Clothing House of 
Springfield one year. Returning to his home, 
he sjient a shoit while in Middleboro and 
.Sandwich. On April 20, i<S84, he entered 
the clothing house of Howard & Caldwell, of 
Hrockton, his present employers. Mere he is 
a general favorite. On the fiftieth anniver- 
sary of his entrance into business his fellow 
clerks tendered him a banquet, and presented, 
him with a handsome easy-chair. 

Mr. Hrett was married in 1S51 to Hannah 
I'oster Gibbs, of Uridgewater, who died July 
g, i88g, aged fifty-five years. She was the 
mother of fi\e children, namely: William 
I*'rank, a business man, formerly of Danbury, 
Conn., now of l^oston ; Isabel Alma, the wife 
of S. !•". Tolman, a well-known printer of 
l^rockton ; Harry Meade, who lived but two 
years; Edith, who lived but one year; and 
Allen Foster, travelling salesman for Packard 
& Field, shoe manufacturers of Brockton. Mr. 
Brett contracted a second marriage January 7, 



1892, with Miss Irene Bradford, daughter of 
Simeon and Irene (Pratt) Bradford, of Middle- 
boro. He has long been identified with the 
Republican party. He is well advanced in 
Masonry, belonging to Social Harmony Lodge 
of Wareham ; Satucket Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; Bay State Commandery, Knights 
Templars, of Brockton ; a charter member of 
the Brockton Council of Royal and Select 
Masters; and a member of the Boston Council. 



/^^TuSTAVUS ATWOOD, a well-known 
V P I and popular resident of Carver, was 
born upon his jiresent farm in this 
town, November 18, 1843, son of Sumner and 
Clio (Humphrey) Atwood. Mr. Atwood's 
parents were natives of Carver, his father hav- 
ing been engaged in farming here for many 
years. They reared a family of seven chil- 
dren, as follows: Ilarrjett, Charles S. , Gns- 
tavus, Susan M., Fredei-ick S. , FjnmaJ., and 
Mary II. The father ({lied October i, i8go, 
aged eighty-four years, two months, and 
twenty-eight days. Th'ie mother died January 
icS, 1892, at the age of Iseventy-five years, two 
months, and twenty-five days. 

Gustavus Atwood received a common-school 
education. He was brought up to farm life, 
and at an early age displayed habits of indus- 
try and frugality. He resided with and cared 
for his parents until their decease ; antl some 
time after his marriage, when about thirty 
years old, he received, from them a deed of 
one-half of the estate, after their death coming 
into possession of the other half. He \ww 
owns about ninety acresj of good land, fifty of 
which are included in the homestead, the 
balance outlying. , He carries on general 
farming, chiefly with a view to home con- 
sumption, and also operates a saw and grist 
mill, which give- employment to several men. 



200 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



The saw-mill he operates chiefly in the winter; 
and a large portion of hjis time during that 
season of the year, since coming of age, lias 
been employed in cuttirg and sawing long 
lumber and shingles. In summer he works at 
general jobbing — painting, papering, carpen- 
tering, and mason work ; and he has a wide 
reputation both for skill as a handicraftsman 
and for personal integrity. He has served as 
administrator in settling 'several estates, and 
also as executor and guarcfian. He is Trustee 
of the E. T. Pratt I^^md, amounting to three 
thousand dollars, held for the public schools 
of Carver. He also writes conveyances, and 
is a Justice of the Peace/ having been first 
appointed to this office in 1883 by Benjamin 
F. Butler, and reappointed in 1890 by 
J. Q. A. Brackett. In liS/S he 'served by 
appointment as a member bf the School Com- 
mittee of Carver for several months to fill a 
vacancy caused by the dea :h of a member. In 
1879 he was elected to the office of Selectman, 
Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, and was 
re-elected twice, serving the town three years 
in succession. In the sfring of 1884 he was 
chosen as a member of tme School Committee, 
and has served every year since, being re- 
elected in the spring or 1896 for a term of 
three years, which, wheii completed, will make 
a total of fifteen years'; service on the School 
Board. In 1896 Mr. At wood was elected to 
the General Court of Massachusetts from the 
Si.xth Plymouth Uistriirt on the Republican 
ticket, and without opposition, the latter cir- 
cumstance indicating ths confidence placed in 
his ability and integrity by his fellow-citizens, 
regardless of party. i 

On February 20, 18I70, Mr. Atwood mar- 
ried Mercy J. McFarlili, a daughter of John 
and Kebecca (Blackmai]) McFarlin. He has 
had four children, as fpllows: Gustavus Gil- 
bert, Charles Herbert, 1 Albert Sumner, and 

\ 



Nathaniel Francis. Gusfavus G., who was 
born March 11, 1871, received a good educa- 
tion, being graduated from Maine State Col- 
lege. He chose civil engineering as his pro- 
fession, and now holds a good position with 
Mr. Holbrook, a contractor of Newton, Mass. 
July 3, 1896, he married Mary Lavinia Os- 



borne, daughter of Josep 
(Witherel) Osborne. CI 
ruary 24, 1873, resides at 
eral charge of affairs du 
sence. Albert S. , born 



1 C. and Eliza Jane 
arles H., born Feb- 
honie, and has gen- 
■ing his father's ab- 
September 30, 1875, 



died September 16, 1876. Nathaniel F. , 
born June 26, 1878, is af present a student. 

Mr. Atwood is a i-iia;i who has wisely im- 
proved his opportunities. His business affairs 
are in a flourishing condition, and he is re- 
spected both for hiS; public service and as 
being an important factor in the general busi- 
ness interests of the town. He has long taken 
an active part in temperance work, and is con- 
nected by membershiji with Winthrop Lodge, 
No. 247, Indeiiendent Order of Good Tem- 
plars. He and his family stand high socially 
and have many friends. A portrait of Mr. 
Atwood accompanies this sketch. 



« » • » * 



Y^EMUEL M. KEITH, the Postmaster 
|jr at Bridgewater for the past ten years, 
■^ — - , ^ is a native and one of the best- 
known residents of this place. He was born 
December 12, 1845, son of Elbridge and Caro- 
line (Keith) Keith. The Keith family, 
which is of Scotch origin, has given many 
generations to New England, some of its rep- 
resentatives being among the early Colonists. 
Caleb Keith, the grandfather of Lemuel M., 
served as a soldier in the War of 1S12, and 
was stationed at Plymouth, Mass. Elbridge 
Keith was born in Bridgewater, Mass. A 
well-educated man, he taught school for a num- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIPIW 



l)cr of years. Afterward he was engaged in 
l)usiness in 15ridge\vatcr. Me was prominent 
in the town, served as Selectman for thirteen 
years, and was three years in the Massachu- 
setts State legislature. He died in 1.S65. 
His wife, who was a native of l^aston, Mass., 
at this writing still survives him. t)f their 
children, Hasadiah H., Lemuel M., Samuel 
S., Rhoda F., and Mary J. are living. Mary 
J. is the wife of Adney V. Aldcn, of Norwood, 
Mass. 

Lemuel I\L Keith is a graduate of Hridgc- 
water Academy. After his father's death he 
managed the business left by the deceased for 
ten years. Retiring then, he was out of busi- 
ness for some time, when in April, 1886, he 
received his appointment as I'ostmaster under 
President Cleveland. In this capacity he has 
performed his duties in such a satisfactory 
manner that he has been retained through all 
the changes of administration since. Mr. 
Keith is a Democrat with independent procliv- 
ities. He was married in 1S71 to Miss Lsthcr 
M. Keith. A ]iublic-spirited citizen, he is 
always ready to aid projects for the betterment 
of the town and the good of society in general. 



■OHN .M. WHITING, a well-known 
contracting mason of East l?ridge- 
water, was born in this town, October 
27, 1842. He is a son of John A. and Celesta 
(Howard) Whiting, the former of whom was a 
native of East Bridgewater, and the latter of 
West Bridgewater. Marlborough Whiting, 
the father of John A., was a Revolutionary 
soldier. James Whiting, the founder of the 
family, came from ICngland in the year 1644, 
and settled in ilingham, this county. Martin 
Whiting, a brother of John A., held the office 
of Selectman in East Bridgewater for some 
thirty years, and was at one time the Ta.x Col- 



lector for the town. John A. Whiting, who 
was born in East Bridgewater in the first year 
of the present century, and was a lifelong res- 
ident of the town, followed the trade of mason 
for over si.xty years. He died in 1888, in his 
eighty-eighth year. Three of the children 
born to him and his wife. Celesta, grew to 
maturity; namely, Sidney, Ahbie, and 
John M. 

John M. Whiting, the youngest of his 
parents' children, was educated in the common 
schools and at Allen's Academy. At the age 
of seventeen years he began learning the 
mason's trade with S. L. Washburn, of lirock- 
ton, by whom he was afterward employed for 
about four years. Since then he has carried 
on a contracting business on his own account. 
E.xcepting two years spent in I'ittsfield, 
Mass., he has continuously resided in East 
Bridgewater and vicinity, where he has won 
the respect and friendship of the business 
community. On December 22, 1869, Mr. 
Whiting married Helen Munyon, of North- 
ampton, Mass., who was a member of the 
Episcopal church, and died March 11, 1894. 
He is identified with the Universalist church 
at Abington; and he has nienibershi|i in 
Satucket Lodge, A. E. & A. M., of I-Iast 
Bridgewater, and Harmony Chapter, Royal 
Arch Masons, of Bridgewater. In politics he 
is a Republican. 




ALBERT TILLSON. a retired foun- 
dry man of Carver, was born at the 
Tillson homestead in South Carver 
July 3, 1846, son of Zenas and Louise (King) 
Tillson. Mr. Tillson's great-grandfather, 
Ichabod Tillson, was the first ancestor of the 
family to locate in Carver. John Tillson, son 
f)f Ichabod, was a native and lifelong resident 
of this town, and followed agricultural pur- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



suits here during the active period of his life. 
His son, Zenas, Mr. Z. A. Tillson's father, 
resided in South Carver during his entire 
life, and was a foundry man by occupation. 

Z. Albert Tillson was reared and educated 
in Carver. At the age of fourteen years he 
began life for himself as an apprentice at 
Ellis's foundry in this town. He followed 
foundry work for thirty years, twenty-seven of 
which were passed in the employ of the above- 
named concern. In 1890 he relinquished the 
pursuit of his trade to engage in farming. 
He now owns a good fertile farm; and since 
1887 he has given considerable attention to 
the raising of small fruits, including cranber- 
ries, having a tract of twelve acres devoted to 
the product named. His substantial build- 
ings were erected in 1875. He displays both 
thrift and energy in the management of his 
property, and is one of the prosperous citizens 
of the town. 

On January 9, 1865, Mr. Tillson wedded 
Ellen A. Hathaway, and by her has had six 
children, of whom two died in infancy. The 
survivors are: Wilfred A., who resides in 
Carver, and has been a member of the Board 
of Selectmen for three years; Mabel F. ; 
Alice C. ; and Blanche K. Mr. Tillson is 
connected with the Independent Order c; 
Good Templars. His i)olitical opinions brinj, 
him into sympathy with the Populist party. 




IDGAR CROSSMAN RAYMOND, a 
well-known undertaker of Plymouth, 
was born in this town, July 20, 
1825, son of George and Priscilla (Shaw) 
Raymond. Mr. Raymond's father, a native 
of Boston and a baker by trade, was employed 
in furnishing bread to the soldiers during the 
Warof 1S12. Later he settled in Plymouth, 
and here conducted a baking business for 



many years. The site of his bakery is now 
occupied by Holmes & Hall. He died in this 
town in 1871, aged eighty-six years, leaving 
the reputation of a reliable, energetic business 
man and a worthy citizen. His wife, who 
was a native of Middleboro, Mass., became the 
mother of eleven children, all of whom except 
one reached maturity. Of these Edgar C, 
the subject of this sketch, who was the young- 
est, is the only survivor. 

Edgar Grossman Raymond acquired his edu- 
cation in the common schools. At the age of 
ten years he began work in Robbins's Rope 
Walk, where he remained until he was fifteen. 
He then went to Greenbush, N. Y., and there 
worked with his brother, Harvey S., at shoe- 
making for three or four years. He then re- 
turned home, and was employed for a time as 
clerk of a hotel in this town. In 1876 he 
spent a season in cod-fishing on the Grand 
Banks. After returning from this trip, he 
applied himself to learn the cabinet-maker's 
trade with his brother Charles and John Wil- 
son, who gave him his first instructions in the 
manufacture of caskets. He remained with 
his brother until the latter's death, in 1S80. 
In the following year he formed a partnership 
with his nephew, and with him, under the 
firm name of Edgar C. Raymond & Co., was 
engaged in the undertaking business for four 
years. Joseph A. Smith then bought the 
junior partner's interest in the concern, which 
was continued under the same name until 
June, 1895. Mr. Smith then sold his interest 
to W. W. Beaman, when the firm name was 
altered to Raymond & Beaman. Mr. Ray- 
mond was for several years the superintendent 
of Vine Hill Cemetery, holding that position 
until obliged to give his whole attention to 
his undertaking business. He has acquired a 
wide reputation in this locality for caskets of 
the finest workmanship. In addition to the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



203 



local trade lie receives from the adjacent 
towns many orders, which his ample facilities 
enable him to meet with promjitness and satis- 
faction. 

In 1S54 Mr. Raymond wedded Mary Grace 
Hughes, a native of North Wales, who has 
borne him two children, a son and a daughter. 
The daughter is now the wife of Edwin Louis 
Mdes, a son of Oliver Edes, the rivet manu- 
facturer of Plymouth, and the inventor of the 
first rivet machine used in this country. Mr. 
Raymonil's son, who was formerly in the shoe 
manufacturing business in Whitman, Mass., 
is now organizing lodges of a fraternal and 
beneficial order. He married Adeline Pru- 
dence Fluken, a daughter of F. F. F"luken, of 
Whitman. Mr. Raymond is connected with 
Mayriower Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Plymouth. Roth he and Mrs. 
Raymond enjoy cordial social relations here. 




i£)f\ LBl'.RT F. SMALL, an enterprising 
real estate dealer of Brockton, was 
born in Brewster, Barnstable 
County, November 30, 1845. His parents 
were Cornelius and Mercy Small, the mother's 
maiden name being unchanged by marriage. 
Nathan Small, his paternal grandfather, was 
one of a company who, armed but witli pitch- 
forks, went to oppose a party of British who 
had landed on the shores of Cape Cod. He 
married, and became the father of seven chil- 
dren, three girls and four boys. Cornelius, 
the eldest child, was a native of the same 
town, where he was a well-known farmer and 
builder. He erected the Brewster town 
hall. His wife, who was a daughter of Zeb- 
eclee Small, also of Brewster, had ten chil- 
dren: namely, Cornelius, Joshua, Frederick, 
James, Isaac, Francis, Albert F., Edgar, 
Mercy limma, and Adelaide Peirce. Of these 



Frederick, Edgar, and Albert are the only 
survivors. Frederick is with Sampson, Mur- 
dock & Co., of Boston; and lulgar carries on 
a marble business in Brockton. The father 
died in September, 1894, at the age of eighty- 
five years. The mother was scventy-si.\ years 
at her death. They were highly resjiected 
members of the Universalist church, in which 
he officiated as sexton. 

Albert F. Small was educated in the public 
and private schools of his native town. At 
the age of eighteen he learned the tratle of 
carpenter and Ijuilder from his father, with 
whom he remained during his minority. He 
then came to Brockton to work for N. S. 
Holmes. Thereafter he went into the same 
business for himself, and conducted it until 
1S90. He now deals exclusively in real 
estate in tiiis city. Mr. Small was one of the 
promoters and organizers of the Brockton East 
Side Electric Railroad, which was the first in 
the New England States. This road, which 
he planned in 1887, was in operation by No- 
vember of the following year. For the first 
two years he officiated as President and Man- 
ager, and he was Director for three years. 
Mr. Small owns several shoe factories, which 
he leases. At one time he also kept a store 
where Clapp Brothers now conduct a grocery. 
The estate at that corner is still his property. 
For two years he has been one of the Direc- 
tors of the Glover Sanitary Sewerage Com- 
pany, whose office is at 40 Ames Building, 
Boston. 

On January 30, 1875, he entered matrimony 
with Mary T., daughter of David 1". Stratfin, 
of this city. .Mr. and Mrs. Small have three 
interesting children — Mabel F., P'tta E., and 
Albert F. Mabel attends the Brockton High 
School. Albert F., Jr.. is now eight years 
old. In politics Mr. Small has been a loyal 
Rei)ublican since he cast his first vote, which 



204 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was given in favor of tliat party's candidates. 
He is a member of Excelsior Council, Legion 
of Honor, No. i6; and of Brockton Lodge, 
No. 1 1 8, Knights of Honor. Both he and 
Mrs. Small are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. For three years Mr. Small 
has officiated as Trustee of the church. 




HARLES R. PACKARD, the effi- 



cient Postmaster and Town Clerk of 
West Bridgewater, was born in 
Roxbury, Mass., May 8, 1843, a son of 
Charles and Nancy T. (Page) Packard, the 
former of whom was a native of Easton, Mass., 
and the latter of Woodstock, Conn. Samuel 
Packard, the immigrant ancestor of this old 
Plymouth County family, came to America 
from Windham, England. He settled in 
Hingham, Mass., in 1638, and later removed 
to West Bridgewater. Captain Nathan Pack- 
ard, one of his descendants, great-grandfather 
of Charles R. Packard, was an officer in the 
Revolutionary War. 

Charles Packard was a machinist by trade, 
and for many years held the position of man- 
ager in the Bay State Iron Works at South 
Boston. Late in life he retired to West 
liridgewater, dying here December 26, 1875. 
His wife was a daughter of James B. Page, a 
soldier of the War of 18 12. She was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Charles R. Packard is now the only survivor 
of the eight children born to his parents. His 
early years were spent for the most part in 
South Boston, where he attended the public 
schools; and later he was a pupil in the Eng- 
lish High .School in Boston. For many years 
he was employed as clerk and book-keeper 
with various firms in different lines of busi- 
ness. On August 8, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany B, Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteer 



Infantry, with which he joined the army of the 
Potomac, and took part in the following en- 
gagements: second battle of Bull Run, Chan- 
tilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. At 
Gettysburg he was captured by the rebels, and 
for about six weeks was held a prisoner. He 
was then paroled, and remained in the parole 
camp at Annapolis, Md., until the following 
autumn, when he was duly exchanged, and re- 
joined his old regiment, with which he par- 
ticipated in the Mine Run campaign. In the 
following spring, shortly after the expiration 
of his first term, he re-enlisted in Company K 
of the Sixth Regiment, L^nited States Veteran 
Volunteers, being in the First Corps under 
General Hancock. From that time until his 
discharge, April 8, 1866, he was on detail 
duty at General Hancock's headquarters in 
Washington and Baltimore. Returning to 
Boston, he worked as clerk and book-keeper the 
next six years, and in 1872 came to West 
Bridgewater, where he has made his home ever 
since. 

In March, 1SS4, Mr. Packard was appointed 
Postmaster of West Bridgewater; and he con- 
tinues to hold the office. He was elected 
Town Clerk in 1889, and since that time has 
been re-elected annually. For eleven years 
he has been a Trustee of Howard Seminary, 
and for many years a Trustee of the Public 
Library of West Bridgewater. He is promi- 
nently identified with the Masonic order, 
being a member of St. George Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M., at Campellp; Satucket Royal Arch 
Chapter at Brockton ; the Bay State Comman- 
dery, ■ Knights Templars, at Brockton; and 
AleppS Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Bos- 
ton. He is a charter member and was the 
first Commander of John C. P^remont Post, No. 
202, Grand Army of the Republic, at West 
Bridgewater; a member of Ploward Lodge, No. 



( 




CHARLES R. PACKARD. 



1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



207 



116, Knights of Pythias; and of Grange No. 
156, I'atrons ot Husbandry, i)f this town. 



M 



AVID ("OHH, one of tlie oldest resi- 
dents of Ilingham, who is now 
engaged in business, was born here, 
August 13, 1817, son of Elisha ]?icl<ford and 
Michal (Hyde) Cobb. He is a descendant of 
Henry and Sarah (Ilinckley) Cobb, who were 
at Plymouth in 1632, and, removing from 
thence to Scituate in 1^133, finally settled in 
Harnstable in 1639. 

Thomas and Richard Cobb came from I'^ng- 
land to ]5oston in 1685, subsequently settling 
in Hingham in 1692. Tracing the line down, 
we come to Elisha IJickford, the father of the 
subject of this sketch. He was a son of 
David and Lucy (Bickford) Cobb, born at 
Barnstable, Mass., February 14, 1776. He 
was a master mariner, and lived to be seventy- 
nine years old, dying on November 16, 1855. 
He was twice married, the first time, Novem- 
ber 13, 1799, to Lydia Loring, daughter of 
Elijah and Lydia (Low) Loring. She died 
December 13, 1802, at the age of twenty-four. 
On December 2, 1804, he marrieil his secontl 
wife, Michal, daughter of Noah and Rachel 
Hyde. She was born in Newton, Mass., on 
May 2, 1778, and died in Hingham, Septem- 
ber 8, 1866, having attained the advanced age 
of eighty-eight years. They were the parents 
of several children: P^isha, deceased ; Joseph, 
decea.sed; Naaman, now eighty -four years old, 
a resident of Weymouth; Michal, deceased; 
Mary, who also has passed away; and David, 
of whom more is now to be said. 

David Cobb had but little opportunity in 
his boyhood to acquire an education, as he 
began work at the age of nine years. When 
he was seventeen, he was apprenticed to a 
painter in this town; and he served his lime, 



and thereafter worked at his trade. At the 
age of twenty-two he began business for him- 
self on the corner near his jiresent store, 
which he bought later, and which he has man- 
aged ever since. During his residence here 
time has wrought great changes in the busi- 
ness outlook of Hingham, as he remembers 
when eighty vessels used to cast their anchors 
in this port. 

In politics Mr. Cobb was at first a Whig, 
but he now affiliates with the Republican 
party. He has also been actively identified 
with the temperance movement, being one of 
thirteen who in 1835 organized the Sons of 
Temperance, which had a career of usefulness, 
and then disbanded. He now belongs to the 
Reform Club, which has temperance for its 
object. 

Mr. Cobb married Mercy 1^ P'earing, who 
is now living at the age of seventy-si.\. They 
have four children — David, Jr., Henry H., 
Mercy I""., and George W. David, Jr., is in 
company with his father, under the style of 
David Cobb & Son; Henry II. and George 
W. also live here; and Mercy V. is a resi- 
dent of New Bedford, Mass. Personally, Mr. 
Cobb, who is well known, is an energetic 
gentleman, hale and hearty, though he has 
passed his seventy-ninth birthday. He owns 
a tricycle witii tlie latest improvements, on 
which he can ride eight miles an hour with 
ease; and he no doubt tlerives much benefit 
from this healthful and agreeable e.xercise. 




R.VNK E. CON-SIAX.S MD-, "I 
Brockton, Mass., a prominent physi- 
cian of the honueopathic school, was 
born in Blue P^arth City, Minn., August 2, 
1866. He is a .son of Henry P. and Barbara 
Constans, both natives of the old Prench prov- 
ince of Alsace, and descendants of Huguenot 



2o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and noble ancestors. His father's grand- 
mother was Countess von Grunbach, of Des- 
bach, in Alsace. Henry P. Constans, who 
studied chemistry in his native land, came to 
America when he was eighteen years of age 
and located in St. Paul, Minn. Here for two 
years he was in the commission business, deal- 
ing in lime, grain, hay, cement, etc. In 
1856, with Lieutenant Governor J. B. Wake- 
field, he founded Blue t^arth City, laying out 
and organizing the town. Now, at the age of 
si.xty-four, he conducts the new Constans 
House, the iinest hotel in Southern Minnesota. 
He has been actively prominent in the affairs 
of Blue Earth City for many years, and has 
held a number of public offices. Mr. Constans 
is a Deacon of the Presbyterian church, and a 
prominent Mason. He reared four sons, of 
whom Dr. Constans is the youngest. 

Frank E. Constans graduated from the high 
school of Blue Earth City in 1882, and from 
Carleton College, at Northfield, Minn., in 
1886. He then took up the study of medicine 
at Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, 
Pa., from which he received his diploma in 
1889. Then he took the competitive exami- 
nation for Ward's Island Hospital, the largest 
homosopathic hospital in the world, where he 
had a year's practical experience as House 
Physician. In August, 1890, he opened an 
office in Brockton, where, from the beginning, 
his practice has steadily increased. Dr. Con- 
stans is on the Visiting Staff and Medical 
Board of the Brockton City Hospital, an insti- 
tution in whose establishment he was actively 
interested. He is a member of the Plymouth 
County Homoeopathic Medical .Society, of the 
State Homoeopathic Society, and of the Metro- 
politan Hospital Association of New York. 
He recently received a diploma and degree 
from the National College of Electro Thera- 
peutics. 



In March, 1893, Dr. Constans was united in 
marriage with Emily P'oster Packard, a daugh- 
ter of Dr. J. E. Packard, of Brockton. The 
Packards are one of the old families of this 
city. Dr. Constans takes no active interest 
in politics. He is a member of Harmony 
Lodge, No. 27, Knights of Pythias, being 
assistant surgeon in the Third Regiment, 
Uniformed Rank; a member of the Iillks ; the 
Phi Kappa, a college fraternity; surgeon to 
the Ancient Essenic Order; and a member of 
the Commercial Club. 



JOSEPH EBER BEALS is a descendant 
of John Beal, who settled in Ilingham 
in 1638. He is active as one of the 
trustees of the Middleboro Public Library, and 
has been a disinterested worker in behalf of 
that institution during the past two decades, 
being one of the foremost men of culture in 
this town. A son of Eber and Lucy (Vaughn) 
Beals, both natives of Middleboro, he was born 
in this town, March 18, 1834. Eber Beals, 
who was a blacksmith, worked at his trade in 
Middleboro for si.xty-seven years, and tlicd 
here soon after his eighty-fourth birthilay. 
His wife died in August, 1872. 

Joseph K. Beals, the only child of his par- 
ents, attended the common schools of his 
native town and fitted for college at the old 
Peirce Academy. He learned the printer's 
trade, and after leaving school worked alter- 
nately at printing and teaching, taking charge 
of a school in the winter and working at the 
case in the summer. In 1862 he engaged with 
the Bay State Straw Works, with which he was 
connected some thirty years as clerk, perform- 
ing the duties of accountant, paymaster, and 
cashier. Mr. Beals has been Secretary and 
Treasurer of the Middleboro Co-operative 
Bank since its organization in 1889. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



209 



In political preference ho is a Republican, 
lie has lung been active in town matters, en- 
joying the confitlenco and respect of both par- 
tics, lie has been elected to the H<iard of 
Selectmen, on which he served from 1 .S90 to 
1893, and to the Hoard of Water Commis- 
sioners, wMth which he has been connected 
since 1885, serving as Clerk of that body and 
Superinteiulent, wiiicli position he now occu- 
pies, taking full charge of all matters con- 
nected with the water service. With the 
Middleboro Public Library, an important and 
well -managed enterprise, he has been actively 
interested since its organization in 1874, 
twenty-three years ago performing many of the 
duties of a librarian ; and much of its success 
is due to his unfailing energy and good judg- 
ment. Mr. Reals belongs to a number of 
associations of different kinds, including the 
Middleboro Commercial Club, of which he was 
President in 1S94-96; the New England 
Water Works Association, of which he has 
served as Vice-President ; the New Lngland 
Historic-Genealogical Society; the Town 
Committee on Local History, of which he is 
Chairman ; the Royal Society of Good l-'el- 
lows; and the Sons of Temperance. In relig- 
ious belief he is a Lhiiversalist. 

Mr. Heals was married on March 18, 1863, 
to Miss Mary K. Leonard, of Hridgewater, 
who died on b'cbruary 20, 1871, leaving one 
son, Walter Leonard. This son was graduated 
at Tufts College in iSgo, and w^as employed 
for four years as a civil engineer. lie is now 
connected with the illustrating department of 
the Yoiil/t's Coiiiftiiiioii in Hoston. lie mar- 
ried ;\Iiss ICUa M. Lucas, daughter of Robert 
Lucas, of Manchester, Mass., and has one 
child — ^ Austen Lucas, born September 8, 
1895. Mr. Heals was married the second time 
on April u, 1876, to Miss Harriet C. Harden, 
a daughter of Joseph S. Harden, of Mitldleboro. 




I.Hl'RT 1. SIIURTLIFF, a descend- 
ant of William Shurtleff, of Plym- 
outh and Marshfield, who married 
in 1655 I'llizabeth, daughter of Thomas Let- 
tice, and who was killed by lightning at 
Marshfield in June, 1666, is an influential 
citizen of his native town. Carver, I'lvmouth 
County, Mass., where he is engaged in the 
cranberry culture. He was born January 30, 
1837, son of Albert and Lucy (Thomas) .Shurt- 
liff, the latter a native of Middleboro, Mass. 
His parents had five children, two of whom 
died in infancy. The three who lived to 
maturity were: Lucy A., Eunice T., and 
Albert T., of this writing, who is the only 
one of his family now surviving. 

Until sixteen years of age, Albert T. Shurt- 
liff spent his life on a farm, but at that period 
he decided to break the monotony of an exist- 
ence so uneventful as a farmer's must be, and 
secured a position on board a fishing schooner. 
Following the sea for four years, he then re- 
solved to become master of some trade that 
would enable him to earn a support steadily, 
and regardless of winds and tides, for he had 
found seafaring life subject to many condi- 
tions. Accordingly, he resigned his place on 
the ship's crew, and repaired to Providence, 
R.L, where he intended learning the jewel- 
ler's handicraft. 

He was working at this when the war broke 
out, and with patriotic ardor he enlisted April 
17, 1861, as a private in Comjiany D, First 
Regiment of the Rhotle Island Detached 
Militia. He was mustered in at Washington, 
D.C., and on therrst of July, 1S61, was at 
the first battle of Hull Run, where he received 
his first wound, a minie ball striking him on 
the right arm between the elbow and the 
•shoulder. On the retreat that followed befell 
into the hands of the Rebels, and after the 
expiration of ten tlays was taken to Libby 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Prison, where he was held until October 7, 
1861, when with fifty-seven other Union pris- 
oners he was paroled, and delivered to the 
Union side at Newport News. His arm had 
been amputated on the third day after he 
received his wound. On his release he was 
sent to the hospital at Baltimore, and thence 
to Washington, where he received his dis- 
charge on the 30th of October, 1861. He 
then returned to Carver, and lived for two 
years in quiet. In 1863 he received an ap- 
pointment as a doorkeeper and watchman in 
the War Department at Washington. In this 
position he remained until 1866, when he 
was appointed to a clerkship in the Pay- 
master General's office, where he stayed twelve 
years. After these fifteen years of work for 
the government in Washington, he returned to 
Carver on account of his health, and two years 
later purchased the farm where he now re- 
sides. Here he raises cranberries, which are 
shipped to all parts of the country. On 
August 8, 1 87 1, he was married to Maria 
Young Davis, daughter of James and Sophia 
(Smith) Davis, of Washington, D.C. Five 
children, two boys and three girls, were the 
fruit of this union. The eldest, Mary Eliza- 
beth, born June 28, 1872, married Alfred 
Allen Walker, of Washington, D.C; the sec- 
ond, Walter Davis, born May 31, 1875, is 
now a medical student at Ploward University, 
Washington, D.C; the third, Lucy Thomas, 
born January 9, 1877, lives at the parental 
home; the fourth, Anna Kimball, was born 
January 6, 1882, ; and the fifth, Carlton, was 
born May 8, 1888. The two latter are natives 
of Carver, the other three of Washing- 
ton, D.C. 

For fourteen years, from 1879 to 1893, Mr. 
ShurtlifT was Town Clerk of Carver, and for 
eight years he was Selectman, Assessor, and 
Overseer of the Poor. He has been a Justice 



of the Peace for the last seventeen years, or 
since 1879, 'i'""' '^^ present he is Chairman of 
the Board of Trustees of the Carver Public 
Library. He is a member of Conwood Post, 
No. 76, Grand Army of the Republic, of 
Plymouth. In politics Mr. Shurtliff is a Pro- 
hibitionist. 



W""'- 



ALTER L. CLARK, who is suc- 
;ssfully engaged in the dry-goods 
business at 202 Main Street, Brock- 
ton, is a native of Lawrence, Mass. He was 
born April 21, 1872, son of Enoch and Helen 
M. (Sears) Clark. The founder of the family 
came to this country with the Pilgrim P'athers 
in the "Mayflower." The great-grandfather 
of Walter L. Clark was the first settler of 
Fairmont, N.H. Enoch Clark, born in Went- 
worth, Mass., who is a carpenter, has followed 
that occupation with success, principally in 
Wentworth and Lawrence. He now resides 
in Lawrence, where, although sixty-five years 
of age, he does most satisfactory work in the 
capacity of pattern-maker for the Atlantic 
mills. He is a member of the Universalist 
church. His wife, Helen, who is a connec- 
tion of the well-known Sears family of Bos- 
ton, has borne him two children — Walter L. 
and Jennie S. 

After completing the course of study pur- 
sued in the Lawrence public schools, Walter 
L. Clark went to Boston, and took a business 
course at Comer's Commercial College. He 
then entered the dry-goods^ store of A. W. 
Stearns at Lawrence as carpet-layer, but also 
served as a clerk behind the counter. He re- 
mained in one department a year, and after- 
ward worked in the other departments. 
I'inally he was placed in charge of the drapery 
department. Five years later, in January, 
1895, he came to Brockton, and opened the 
dry-goods store he now conducts. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



III ])itlitics Mr. Clark favors the Republican 
party. He is a member of Fletcher Webster 
Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Republic. 
He is a member of the liaptist church, and of 
the Baptist Young People's Union, and was 
sent as a delegate to the National Convention 
held in 1894. He was a member of the Law- 
rence Young Men's Christian Association, 
where he served as Treasurer for two years; 
and he is now a member of the Brockton 
Young Men's Christian Association. 



/^APTAIN EBKNKZER NICKI^R- 
I j^ SON, who is well known as a former 

V*^.^.^ follower of the sea, but who has 
now retired, is a resident of Plymouth, Mass. 
He was born in the village of Dennis, Barn- 
stable County, Mass., February 18, 1827, a 
son of I'lbenezer and Ruth (Chapman) Nicker- 
son. His father, who was a native of Dennis, 
was a seafaring man. He married Miss Ruth 
Chapman, a daughter of John Chapman, of 
Dennis, and they became the parents of ten 
children, of whom three only are now living. 
Mr. Ebenezer Nickerson, Sr., passed away 
April 2, 1858, his wife having died July 3, 
1839. 

At the age of nine years their son Ebenezer 
shipped on board a coasting-vessel as assistant 
cook. In his twenty-first year he was given 
the command of a vessel, and he engaged in 
the coasting carrying trade from Newfound- 
land to the State of Virginia. He followed the 
sea for nearly half a century, or until 1884, 
and he owned an interest in the vessels which 
he sailed. In 1S61 he came to Plymputh, 
and soon after purchased the farm upon which 
he now resides. During the last decade, at 
different times he has engaged somewhat in 
painting. 

Captain Nickerson and Miss Mary A. Lang- 



ford, who was a native of Plymouth and a 
daughter of William and Betsey Langford, 
were united in marriage in January, 1853, and 
became the parents of one child, a daughter, 
Mary L. Nickerson, now the wife of E. R. 
Manter, of Plymouth, a dealer in wood, hay, 
and grain. Mr. and Mrs. Manter have two 
children: Grace, born August 7, 1886; and 
Anna, born March 26, 1889. Captain Nick- 
erson was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
first wife, who died July 5, 1856; and on 
February 26, 1861, he wedded Miss Margaret 

B. Burgess, who was born in Plymouth, Sep- 
tember 5, 1832, a daughter of Captain Will- 
iam and Polly Burgess. Five children are the 
fruit of this union, namely: Charles A., born 
October 2, 1863; Lina B., born June 29, 
1865; William B., born June 16, 1867, who 
is now the Postmaster of ChiJtonville; John 

C, born August 3, 1869; and K. I-^lIliot, who 
was born August 9, 1871. 

Captain Nickerson is a Free and Accepted 
Mason. In political action he is associated 
with the Republican party. He and his wife 
attend the Congregational church. 




'AMUEL M. HALL, who carries 
v/^ on a thriving confectionery business 
in Plymouth, was born in Cam- 
bridgeport, Mass., December 27, 1829, son of 
Oliver and Jane (Brown) Hall. Mr. Hall's 
grandfather, Oliver Hall (first), who was a 
prosperous farmer of Sutton, N. H., resided in 
that town until his death, and had a family of 
twenty-two children. Oliver Hall, second, 
Mr. Hall's father, who was born in Sutton, 
acquired the stone mason's trade. He re- 
moved to Cambridgeport, Mass., where he fol- 
lowed his trade steadily for many years, and 
died at the age of fifty-six. He was a member 
of the Universalist church. His wife, Jane, 



212 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



bore him seven children, of whom Samuel M., 
the subject of this sketch, was the third born. 
All the sons have been successful in business. 
One of them is now janitor of Horticultural 
Hall in Boston. The mother was eighty- 
four years old when she died in 1S94. 

After receiving his education in the com- 
mon schools, Samuel M. Hall learned the con- 
fectioner's trade with Robert and Royal 
Douglass, of Cambridgcport, for whom he 
worked four years. For the next seven years 
he was employed by Luther B. Dow in Port- 
land, Me. At the expiration of that time he 
went to Roxbury, Mass., and worked in a 
store on Washington Street, kept by William 
Williams, with whom he remained for two 
years. Returning then to Portland, he spent 
three years in the employment of Green 
Sawyer, after which he returned to Mr. Dow, 
and continued with him until the latter's 
death, some years later. He afterward 
worked with Ferdinand Richards for about 
two years, and with Benjamin Pearson in the 
same city for one year. In company with his 
brother he now started in the confectionery 
business in Portland. Later, he admitted a 
brother-in-law named Johnson to the firm, 
which, under the style of Hall Brothers & 
Co., had carried on business for two years, 
when Johnson retired. At the end of the fol- 
lowing year Mr. Hall became sole proprietor 
of the establishment, conducted it for the suc- 
ceeding year, and then sold out. After this 
he entered the employ of the Wheeler & Wil- 
son Sewing Machine Company at Bridgeport, 
Conn., and remained with them for seven 
years. Resuming the manufacture of confec- 
tionery, he worked for a Mr. Mead in Bridge- 
port for about two years. He was employed 
by his brother, Jackson E. Hall, in the 
varnish and sewing machine business for three 
years. In 1877 he came to Plymouth to assist 



H. A. Aldon, the confectioner. One year 
later he purchased a store in Barnes's Block, 
which he conducted until December 16, 1889, 
when he moved to his present well-known 
stand, which was formerly occupied by Mr. 
Bowen. Here he has since conducted a 
flourishing trade. He also speculates in real 
estate to some extent. 

Mr. Hall has been twice married. By his 
first marriage, contracted in 1850, he was 
united to Anna Rose, of Portland, Me. She 
died in 1864, leaving five children, two of 
whom are deceased. The survivors are: Ed- 
win F., a successful lawyer and prominent 
citizen of Bridgeport, who was formerly a 
member of the Connecticut legislature; Jennie 
M., a tailoress of Plymouth; and George W., 
the junior member of the firm of Holmes & 
Hall, carriage painters of this town. Mr. 
Hall was married the second time in 1872 to 
Eliza Gibbons, a daughter of Joseph Gibbons, 
of Pennsylvania. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat. He cast his first Presidential vote for 
Franklin Pierce in 1852, and he well remem- 
bers the political excitement attending the 
campaign, which resulted in the election of 
Andrew Jackson, having as a boy snuffed the 
candles used in celebrating that event. Both 
he and Mrs. Hall attend the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 




LFRED GRIFFIN, a venerable and 
highly respected citizen of East 
Bridgewater, Mass., was born in 
Manchester, N.H., July i, 1812, son of James 
and Jerusha (Palmer) Griffin, both of whom 
were natives of Manchester. James Griffin 
was a practical farmer, and he was also a boat- 
man on the Merrimac River, being well known 
in that vicinity as Captain Griffin. 

Until about thirteen years of age, Alfred 



M 




ALFRED GRIFFIN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-■5 



Griffin remained with his parents on the New 
Hampshire farm, and during that time was an 
attendant of the common school. The meagre 
education thus obtained has since been supple- 
mented by the knowledge acquired in the 
school of business experience, and by reading, 
he having kept liimself well informed on the 
general topics of the day. The remainder of 
his youth, after leaving home, was spent in a 
variety of occujiations. For a time he drove a 
stage from Boston to New Bedford, Mass ; and 
in 1833 he started in the livery business in 
Bridgevvater, whence, si.x years later, he came 
to I""ast Bridgowater, where he continued in 
the same line of enterprise until about 1886, 
when he retired, after over half a century 
of diligent and profitable occupation. He is 
a Republican in his [xilitical principles. 

For his first wife Mr. Griffin married Har- 
riet N. Howe, of Bridgewater, Mass. She 
bore him two daughters, namely: Harriet J., 
wife of A. Harris Latham; and Fannie M., 
now deceased. Mrs. Harriet Howe Griffin 
died in 1875; and on April 14, 1881, he mar- 
ried his present wife, whose maiden name was 
Lucy A. Johnson. She is a native of East 
Randolph, Mass., but was reared in East 
Bridgewater, where, with the exception of a 
few years spent in Plymouth, she has since 
resided. 

— — — ^m»mt 

LBKRT MANLEY, a well-known milk 
dealer of Brockton, was born here, 
July 28, 1857, son of Milo and 
Mary M. (Packard) Manley. Thomas, the 
earliest-known ancestor in this country, settled 
in Ea.ston, Mass., where he married, becoming 
the father of a son, Daniel. His son, Daniel, 
Jr., came from Easton to North Bridgewater, 
now IJrockton, when a young man, being a 
well-to-do farmer. He served his country in 
the Revolutionary War, and the town as Tax 




Collector. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Ph(jebe Howard, was a native of Bridgewater. 
Twin sons, Salmon and Galen, were born to 
them here on Chri.stmas Day, 1794. These 
sons became successful lumber dealers, and 
owned a great deal of land. Galen lived to be 
eighty years old. Salmon, the grandfather of 
Albert, the subject of this biography, married 
Isah A., daughter of Zephaniah Howard, of 
West Bridgewater, by which alliance there 
were five children. Salmon Manley was re- 
ligiously interested in the Methodist ICpisco- 
pal church, near Marshall's Corner, Brockton. 
His earthly career was unfortunately closed by 
an accident, when he was but fifty-eight years 
old. 

Milo Manley, his second child, was edu- 
cated in the tow^n schools and the Adelphian 
Academy. He then went to work on the 
farm, which he has enlarged and improved, 
being still active in the management thereof. 
He married Mary M., daughter of Nathan 
Packard, of l^rockton. They have had seven 
children, all of whom were graduated from the 
Ikockton High School. They are: Ellen and 
Albert (twins), Susan E. , Bertha, Lowell, 
Alice P., and Weston. Ellen and Bertha are 
graduates of the Bridgewater Normal, and 
have taught school; Lowell, who was gradu- 
ated from Amherst Agricultural College, now 
superintends a farm in West Roxbury ; Alice 
P. is married, and resides in Brockton; and 
Weston is attending a commercial college. 

Albert Manley, after completing his educa- 
tion in the Bryant & Stratton Commercial 
College in Boston, returned to the farm, and 
in 1888 started in the milk business. He 
has an extensive route, and employs two men, 
his trade requiring one hundred cans daily. 
Mr. Manley resides on the farm once owned 
and occupied by his grandfather. 

In politics he affiliates with the Republican 



2l6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



party. Fraternally, he is a member of Paul 
Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; is a Past High 
Priest of Satucket Royal Arch Chapter; and 
also officiates as Sword Bearer of Bay State 
Comniandery, Knights Templars. 



M 



AVID GUSHING, a retired lumber 
merchant of Hingham, Mass., own- 
ing and occupying a pleasant resi- 
dence on North Street, was born in Frceport, 
Me., November 30, 1813, son of Pyam and 
Olive (Lovell) Gushing. He comes of a long 
line of English and American ancestors, the 
family, it is said, "being traceable in Eng- 
land for several generations before either Pil- 
grim or Puritan set sail for America." 

Thomas Gushing owned land in Hingham, 
England, and other places in the fifteenth 
century. William, the eldest son of Thomas, 
wrote his will in 1492, beginning as follows: 
"In the name of god amen, the xx Day of the 
moneth of Septembr in the yere of o'' Lord 
God M'cccc Ixxxxij, I William Gusshyn of 
Henghm in my hoel mend and good memory 
beying, make my testament and my last will, 
Declare in this forme Folloying " ; etc. Will- 
iam's son John made his will in 1522. 
Thomas, son of John, died in 1588. Peter, 
son of Thomas, was buried in Hingham, Eng- 
land, March 2, 1596. He was the father of 
five sons and three daughters. Three of the 
sons — Peter, Theophilus, and Matthew — emi- 
grated to New England. Theophilus came in 
the ship "Griffin " in 1633, and resided several 
years at Haynes Farm, settling thereafter in 
Hingham, Mass. He lived to be nearly one 
hundred years old, being blind for the last 
twenty-five years of his life. It is not known 
that he had any children. 

The progenitor of the family in America 
was Matthew, who came with his wife and five 



children from Hingham, Plngland, in the ship 
"Diligent," commanded by John Martin, and, 
arriving in Boston on August 10, 1638, settled 
in Hingham, Mass., in the autumn of that 
year. Mr. Gushing had several lots granted 
him prior to his arrival here. He built his 
first dwelling-house in 1638. The Gushing 
property, situated below Pear Tree Hill on 
Bachelor (Main) Street, remained in the 
family for almost two and a half centuries, 
from 1638 to 1887. Matthew Gushing became 
prominent in public affairs, and was a Deacon 
of the church. He was married in England 
in 161 3 to Nazareth Pitcher, a daughter of 
Henry Pitcher. They had five children — 
Daniel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Deborah, and 
John, all of whom were natives of England. 
The mother died in Hingham on January 6, 
168 1-2, at the age of ninety-six, and the 
father died September 30, 1660, at the age of 
seventy-one years. 

Daniel, the eldest son of Matthew and Naz- 
areth Gushing, was born in Hingham, Eng- 
land. The date of his baptism was April 20, 
1619. He was first married on January 19, 
1645, to Lydia Gilman, daughter of Edward 
and Mary (Glark) Gilman. She was a native 
of England, and died in Hingham, Mass., 
March 12, 1688-9. Her children were: Peter, 
Daniel, Jr., Deborah, Jeremiah, Theophilus, 
and Matthew. On March 23, 1690, Daniel 
Gushing was again married, his second matri- 
monial partner being Mrs. Elizabeth (Jacobs) 
Thaxter, widow of Gaptain John Thaxter. 
She died in Hingham at an advanced age. 
Daniel Gushing was an influential man in the 
town, where he accumulated a large property 
for those times. He resided on the paternal 
homestead until his death on December 3, 
1700, at the age of eighty-one. 

His son Theophilus was born in Hingham, 
June 7, 1667. On November 28, 1688, he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



217 



was united in niarriayc with Mary Tlia.xter, 
(laiiglitor of Joiiii and I'.lizahcth (Jacol)s) Thax- 
tcr. Slic was liorii in Hin^liam, August 19, 
1667, and became the niotiier of eleven chil- 
dren — Nehemiah, Mary, Adam, David, Abel, 
Rachel, Mary, Theojihilus, Seth, Deborah, 
and Lydia. The father died January 7, 1717. 

Theophilus, son of Cajjtain Theophilus and 
Mary (Thaxter) Gushing, was born in Hing- 
ham, June 16, 1703. lie married Mannah, 
daughter of Robert and Sarah (Lewis) Water- 
man, tiie date of their wedding being August 
27, 1723. He died June 15, 1779. Perez, 
born July 13, 1746, the youngest of their ten 
children, was the grandfather of David, the 
subject of this sketch. He was married 
August 30, 1770, to Ruth Gushing, who was 
born in this town, November i, 1752, daughter 
of Golonel David and Ruth (Lincoln) Gush- 
ing. They removed to I-'ranklin, Mass., and 
were the parents of six children. 

I'yam, the fourtli child, was born February 
21, 1778. He was married to Olive Lovell, 
of Hull, on December 26, 1805, the ceremony 
being performed by the Rev. Nicholas Bowes 
Whitney. He passed the most of his life in 
Hull, Mass., dying in April, 1841, at the age 
of sixty-three years. His wife was born De- 
cember II, 1783, and died January 11, 1S43. 
They had seven children, hut three of whom 
are now living: David, the suliject of this 
biography; Olive Gould, who married Moses 
Tower, of Auburndale, Mass. ; and Eliza Jones 
Gushing, born in Hull, January 30, 1821, also 
now living in Auburndale. 

David Gushing was taken by his parents in 
his infanc)' to Hull, where the entire jiopiila- 
tion at that time was only one hundred and 
twenty. While a boy he worked at farming, 
and whatever else his parents found for him to 
do; and, they kept him busy, all work and no 
play makes Jack a dull boy not being their 



theory of child-training. His educational 
privileges were limited to short winter terms 
at schools usually taught by college students, 
who were struggling to get their own educa- 
tion. At the age of seventeen he was appren- 
ticed to a carpenter in Medford, and, being 
apt with tools, he readily acquired his trade. 
Three years later in 1836, the times being so 
hard that he could get nothing to do, he went 
South, and worked in Mobile, Ala., and in 
New Orleans, La., for two years. Thereafter 
for tour years he was engaged in getting ship 
timber from the V'irginia woods, but he was 
obliged to abandon that enterprisi- im riiinimt 
of fever and ague. 

Observing on a trip through Hingham that 
the wharves were not occupied, he thought it 
would be a good place to start the lund)cr 
business, and acted upon this judgment in 
ICS45. Although he had no knowledge of the 
trade, it jirov^d an excellent move for him, 
enabling him to accumulate considerable i^mp- 
erty. In 1882 he sold the plant to Wilder & 
Kimball, who have also done an excellent 
business. Mr. Gushing has not been actively 
occupied since he sold out, but he finds 
enough to do in looking after his ])roi)erty. 
Included in his landed estate is a tract in 
Hull, which is now being laid out in lots to 
sell to the summer residents. 

He married Elizabeth Torrey, who ilied 
seven years ago, leaving two chiklren: Eliza- 
beth, now Mrs. Henry Stone; and Sarah, who 
lives at home. Politically, Mr. Gushing was 
a Democrat until 1S56, when he joined the 
Republican party. He served as Representa- 
tive to the legislature in 1868. Personally, 
he is a genial gentleman, hale and hearty at 
the age of eighty-three, having discovered the 
secret of growing old gracefully, in not allow- 
ing his faculties to stagnate, but keeping up 
his interest in the general welfare and progress. 



2lS 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



rOSEPH W. SHERMAN, a general 
farmer and cranberry-grower of Carver, 
was born here, September 5, 1S31, son 
of Joseph R. and Betsy W. (Cobb) Sherman. 
He represents an old and respected family 
of this town, his great-grandfather, Rufus 
Sherman, a prosperons farmer, being a life- 
long resident of that place. Micah, a son of 
Rnfus, was also a native of Carver, and there 
devoted a large portion of his life to farming. 
His son, Joseph R., likewise born in Carver, 
after following the sea in the earlier part of 
his life, worked at the trade of carpenter. On 
March 14, 1830, he married Miss Betsy W. 
Cobb, a native of Carver, and by her became 
the father of three children — Joseph W., Ann 
J., and Frederick C. Ann J. became the wife 
of A. D. Merritt, of Middleboro; and Fred- 
erick C. died in 1891. The mother's death 
happened in 1863. Joseph R. Sherman after- 
ward married Mrs Lydia Atwood, of Plymp- 
ton, who bore him a daughter. Myrtle L., now 
Mrs. Henry L. Pratt, of Plymouth. He 
passed away at Carver in February, 1896, at 
the venerable age of ninety years; and his sec- 
ond wife died January 31, 1882, aged thirty- 
nine years six months. 

Joseph W. Sherman grew to manhood at the 
paternal home, receiving his education in the 
common schools of his native town. At the 
age of fifteen he began working at the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he afterward followed for 
thirty-five years. During all but five years of 
that period he had a shop of his own at 
Carver. In 1871 he moved to his present 
farm, comprising fifteen acres, where he car- 
ries on general husbandry and the culture of 
cranberries. Mr. Sherman has been twice 
married. On the first occasion he wedded 
Miss Sarah C. Jones, a native of Maine, and a 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Appolus Jones. 
She died December 24, 1858, having borne 



two children — Alberta and Edward. The 
latter is now deceased. Mr. Sherman con- 
tracted his second marriage on November 27, 
1864, \^''Ch Miss Hannah C. Sherman, daughter 
of Henry and Christiana Sherman, of Carver. 
Born of this union were two children, both of 
whom died in infancy. Mr. Sherman is an 
earnest promoter of judicious measures looking 
to the improvement of the town. In national 
political belief he is found among the ranks of 
the Republican party. 




INSLOW BREWSTER STAND- 
ISH, the well-known dealer in 
antiques in the historic old town of 
Plymouth, was born here on the 7th of March, 
1834. Mr. Standish is a lineal descendant of 
Miles Standish and John Alden of "May- 
flower" fame. His great-great-great-great- 
grandfather, Alexander Standish, the eldest 
son of Captain Miles Standish, married 
Sarah, daughter of John and Priscilla (Mul- 
lens) Alden. Their son, Ebenezer Standish, 
was the father of Moses Standish, who in 
turn was the father of Moses, Jr., and grand- 
father of Joshua, whose son Joshua was the 
father of Winslow Brewster Standish, of this 
sketch. 

The first Moses Standish fought in the early 
French and Indian Wars, making a good 
record for himself. Moses Standish, Jr., was 
a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
where he lost his life. Joshua, son of the 
second Moses, was a blacksmith by trade, and 
conducted his business in Plympton, and later 
in Middleboro, until he died at the age of 
seventy-four years. He married Susanna 
Cobb, by whom he had six children, of whom 
Joshua, Jr., was the eldest. 

He was born at Plympton, and received his 
education in the schools of that town. Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



219 



Joshua Standisli, Jr., was a man of great intel- 
ligence and ingenuity. He invented the com- 
fortable si)]it crutches for cripples, which arc 
now so common. Hy trade he was a black- 
smith like his father, and his place of business 
was on South Russell Street, Plymouth, near 
the prison. He also was, like so many of his 
distinguished ancestors, a military man, and 
served in the War of 1812, enlisting at Bris- 
tol, R.I. He was also the last Captain 
of the militia at Tlymouth, under the old 
militia law. He was a religious man, and at- 
tended the Universalist church. In politics 
he was an ardent Jacksonian Democrat. He 
married Mary, the daughter of William Shaw, 
of Middleboro, the descendant of an old and 
well-known Plymouth County family. By 
this union he had eight children, of whom the 
subject of this sketch is the only one now 
living. 

Mr. W'inslow Brewster Standish has spent 
all of his life, with the exception of four years, 
in his native town of Plymouth. These four 
years of his early manhood he spent in Boston, 
in the employ of his brother-in-law, the late 
Frederick Gleason, for some years publisher 
of Gkasoii^s Pictorial. Returning to Plym- 
outh, Mr. Standish there took up the shoe- 
maker's trade, at which he worked until the 
war broke out. On the 6th of May, 1861, he 
enlisted and went to the front, being in Com- 
]iany K, Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, and with him went his nephew, Myles 
Standish. Mr. Standish was at Newport 
News at the time of the engagement between 
the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac," and was 
an eye-witness of that remarkable sea-fight. 
Here he took part in several heavy skir- 
mishes. On the 2i.st of June, 1861, he was 
in the army corps which occupied Hampton, 
V'a. , and after three months was transferred 
to Fortress Monroe. On the loth of May, 



1862, his regiment was ordered to Norfolk, 
and later to .Suffolk. Soi.n they joined Mc- 
Clellan's army before Richmond; and Mr. 
Standish and his nephew were in the seven 
days' fight which took place there. Mr. 
Standish was subsequently disabled by illness, 
and on the 6th of August, 1862, was dis- 
charged through the influence of President 
Lincoln, who with his wife visited him at the 
hospital. 

He returned home, and, as soon as he had 
sufficiently recovered, he engaged in his old 
business, which he kept up until the end of 
the war. As he did not regain his strength, 
he was ordered by his physician to take out- 
door exercise, and he consequently took up the 
employment of a pedler, that being a trade 
in which he could constantly keep himself in 
the open air. He drove a pedler's cart for 
four years, and at the expiration of that period 
he bought out the business, and managed it 
till 1895, gradually working himself into a 
position where he could undertake the collect- 
ing and handling of antiques and curios 
solely. He has since been strictly a dealer 
in antiques. 

In politics .Mr. Standish is a Republican, 
and in 1856 he voted for John C. Fremont. 
He was on the Town Republican Committee 
twenty-five years ago, and has continued there 
as an honored member. He was also a Select- 
man of the town of Plymouth five years, from 
1881 to 1886. As a member of Collingwood 
Post, No. 76, Grand .Army of the Republic, 
Mr. Standish has held every office from that 
of Commander down, and is now and has been 
for fifteen successive years its Chaplain. He 
has been a member of Mayflower Lodge, No. 
54, Independent Order of Odd I'eliows, for 
nearly thirty years, having joined in August, 
1865, but has never been willing to accept a 
chair there. He was also the first governor of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Patuxet Colony, No. 103, United Order of the 
Pilgrim Fathers. 

Mr. Standish is liberal in his religious 
views. He was married May 10, 1861, to 
Sylvia, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Maybury, 
of Plymouth, who was for twenty-six years the 
superintendent of the Russell Iron Works. 



Ji 



ANIEL E. DAMON, a prominent 
lawyer now residing in Plymouth, 
was born at Scituate, Mass., August 
2, 1829, son of Daniel and Lydia (Witherell) 
Damon. The first bearer of his name in this 
country was John Damon, who arrived in 
Scituate in company with his uncle, William 
Gilson, about the year 1630, and subsequently 
held the office of Deputy under the Colonial 
government. He married Catherine Merritt, 
daughter of Henry Merritt, of Scituate, and 
left one son, Lieutenant Zachary Damon. 
Lieutenant Damon, who earned his title in 
the early Indian wars, married Martha Wood- 
worth. 

Joshua Damon, a descendant of Zachary, and 
the grandfather of Daniel li. , was a farmer of 
Scituate, and died there at the age of seventy 
years. His son Daniel, who also followed 
farming in Scituate, died there at the age of 
seventy-eight years. He married Lydia 
Witherell, who was a descendant of Elder 
Brewster, one of the passengers of the "'May- 
flower." Her grandfather, James Barrell, who 
served throughout the Revolutionary War with 
two of his sons, was within a few months of 
one hundred years old when he died, having 
performed the work of an ordinary man until 
he was ninety-five. Daniel Damon had six 
children. Of these five are living, four being 
residents of Norwell. Daniel E. Damon was 
brought up in Scituate, and lived there until 
he was seventeen years of age. He then left 



home, and afterward attended the Worcester 
Academy, where he was prepared for college. 
In 1852 he entered Brown University, but 
had soon to relinquish his college studies on 
account of a persistent illness. After leaving 
college he taught school for a time in South 
Scituate and Hingham, also reading law in 
the office of the Hon. Perez Simmons, an able 
lawyer of Hanover, Mass. Qualified to enter 
the legal profession in due time, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1858, and began practice 
at Plymouth in January, 1859. After a short 
time he came to be regarded as a rising 
lawyer. Early in his professional career he 
was elected to the office of Register of Probate 
and Insolvency, which he held for the unpre- 
cedented period of twenty-five years. He has 
also been a Special Justice of the Third Dis- 
trict Court for ten years. Formerly a Whig 
in politics, Mr. Damon has been a Republican 
since the formation of his party. While a 
resident of South Scituate, he was a Trial 
Justice, and also served on the School Com- 
mittee. From 1882 to 1888 he was a member 
of the State Board of Agriculture. Although 
he has been a Mason for forty years, he would 
not accept any chairs. He first joined the 
Old Colony Lodge at Hingham, and afterward 
became a member of Plymouth Lodge. A 
strong temperance man, he has been connected 
with several temperance orders. His union 
with the Church of the Pilgrimage covers 
a period of about thirty years. In the 
month of June, i860, Mr. Damon married 
Ruth W. Stetson, a daughter of Martin W. 
Stetson, of Hanover, and another descendant 
of Inkier Brewster. Her mother was by 
maiden name Ruth Bailey Stockbridge, a de- 
scendant of Colonel John Bailey, who com- 
manded a regiment all through the Revolu- 
tionary War. His daughter Ruth married 
William Stockbridge, who held a commission 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



221 



at Hanover, Mass., under the royal govern- 
ment during the reign of King George III. 

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel K. Damon have two 
ehildren - Ruth Stoekbridge antl Edwin Stet- 
son. Ruth, who graduated from VVellesley in 
1890, is now a teacher in Hlairsville College 
for women in Pennsylvania; lulwin graduated 
from Amherst in 1 1S86, and is now engaged in 
manufacturing. In 1883 Mr. Damon com- 
jiiled a history of Scituate and South Scituate 
for the "Plymouth County History." He has 
also contributed miscellaneous articles of 
much value to the newspapers. 




ENJAMIN HARDEN, Superintend- 
ent of Streets of Bridgevvater, Mass., 
is one of the well-known native citi- 
zens of the place. He was born March 23, 
1833, son of Captain Jabez and Sarah (Pratt) 
Harden, both of Plymouth County. His 
grandfather, Samuel Harden, fought in the 
Revolutionary War, and Captain Jabez Harden 
was a soldier in the War of 181 2. The 
latter, who was a lifelong resident of Bridge- 
water, was a prominent citizen, active as a 
Democrat in town politics, and at one time 
commanded a company of State militia. He 
died September 1 1, 1879. ^^'^ children are: 
George P., who is living in Bridgewater; 
Alice, wife of Albion K. Washburn, in the 
same town ; Albert in East Bridgewater; and 
I'rank B. and Benjamin, both in Bridgewater. 
Benjamin Harden was educated in the com- 
mon schools of his native town. He was 
reared on a farm, and when he attained man's 
estate he chose the pursuit of agriculture, 
which he has followed up to the present time. 
For a number of years he was engaged in lum- 
bering in the winter .season. He holds a lead- 
ing place among the farmers of this vicinity, 
and is a prominent member of Bridgewater 



Grange, No. 201, Patrons of Husbandry. 
When the men of Massachusetts were muster- 
ing at the call of Presiilent Lincoln to save 
the Union, Mr. Harden joined the patriot 
ranks, enlisting in April, 1861, in Company 
A, Third Massachusetts Regiment; and after 
a term of service at I-'ortress Monroe he was 
honorably discharged. Mr. Harden, who is a 
Democrat with independent proclivities, is 
now serving his third term as Superintendent 
of Streets of Bridgewater, and devotes to the 
duties of his office such attention and energy 
in performance as gives general satisfaction. 
His home is in Papermill V'illagc, in the part 
of Bridgewater known as Pratt-town, evidently 
named for his mother's family. 

In 1863 he was united in marriage with 
Susan L. Andrews, of Bridgewater, daughter 
of Perez Andrews, a native of the State of 
Maine. Two daughters have blessed their 
union: Alice V., wife of Lyman Pratt, of 
Bridgewater; and Lizzie, wife of I'red 
Thomas, of this town. Mr. Harden is a 
member of the Unitarian church. One of the 
older active citizens of the town, which he 
has seen grow from a quiet village to one of 
the busiest manufacturing centres of the State, 
he has long been identified with local public 
affairs, keeping in touch with the progress of 
the times, and is widely known and respected. 



^s]YOB PEIRCI'2, will) is successfully en- 
gaged in farming in that part of Mitl- 
dleboro, Mass., that is now Lakeville, 
is a native of this town, having been born 
hereon September 2, 1812, son of Oliver and 
Amy Peirce. His paternal grandfather was 
Enis Peirce, and his great-grandfather, Isaac 
Peirce. The first of the family to locate in 
this neighborhood was Abraham Peirce. 
Oliver and Amy Peirce had seven children. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



>^ 



born in the following order: Enis, Job, 
Stephen, Albert, Ruth, Amy, and George VV. 
After the death of his first wife, Oliver Peirce 
married Miss Polly Hathaway, who bore him 
one son, Lysander. 

Job Peirce, the only living representative 
of this family, spent his early years on a farm, 
and received his education in the district school 
and at Peirce Academy in Middleboro. He 
was married on May 29, 1853, to Miss Eunice 
R. Ellis, who was born in Rochester. Four 
children have blessed their union, namely: 
Polly, who is engaged in teaching; Judith N. ; 
Lucy M. ; and Eunice R. 

In 1865 Mr. Peirce, who is a Republican, 
was a member of the State legislature. He 
has served his town very acceptably as Overseer 
of the Poor, also as Assessor and Selectman. 



-f^TENRY GURNEY, Chairman of the 
r^n Board of Selectmen of East Bridge- 
-1-^ V _ water, and a highly esteemed citi- 
zen, was born in this town, March 18, 1828, a 
son of Captain Seth and Anne (Bates) Gurney. 
His mother was a daughter of Christopher and 
Mary Bates, and his father was a son of Seth 
Gurney, Sr. Perkins Gurney, the father of 
Seth, Sr. , was a son of Joseph, who was a son 
of Zachariah Gurney, of Braintree. Two of 
Henry Guniey's great-grandfathers served in 
the War of the Revolution. 

Captain Seth Gurney and his wife, Anne 
Rates Gurney, were both natives of Plymouth 
County. He spent his life in East Bridge- 
water, where he carried on farming with suc- 
cess; and for a number of years he was Cap- 
tain of a company of militia, which he trained 
at stated times. He had si.K children, of 
whom Henry is the only survivor. In politics 
Captain Gurney was a Whig. He died in 
1844. 



Henry Gurney, who was sixteen years old at 
the time of his father's death, grew to man- 
hood on a farm in the north part of the town. 
He received his education in the common 
schools and at the East Bridgewater Academy. 
On starting out in life for himself, he chose 
farming, the occupation to which he had been 
reared, and he has followed it diligently all 
his life. During the winter seasons he 
engages in logging and lumbering. He has 
resided at lilmwood since 1882. 

On the 1 2th of April, 1849, Mr. Gurney 
was united in marriage with Sallie Pt' Poole, 
who was born in what is now Whitman, Mass. 
They have three children living, namely: 
David W. ; Fannie M., wife of Allan B. 
Shaw; and Agnes C, wife of Prescott H. 
Pratt. 

P'or a number of years l\Ir. Gurney has 
served as Selectman of East Bridgewater, and 
he is now, as above mentioned, Chairman of 
the Board. He has been Town Treasurer one 
year, and on the School Board several years. 
In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Gurney 
is a member of the Congregational church 
at Whitman. 



(JOSEPH D. JONES, an enterprising 
citizen of East Bridgewater, where he 
conducts a saw-mill and a bo.x manu- 
facturing business, was born in Warren, Me., 
November 14, 1837, a son of Linus and 
Phoebe (Peabody) Jones. On the paternal 
side he is a descendant of Miles Standish of 
Plymouth Colony fame. 

The line is thus clearly traced: Captain 
Miles Standish's first wife died in 1621, and 
he married a second wife, Barbara. His chil- 
dren were: Alexander, Miles, Josiah, Charles, 
Lora, and John. Alexander, son of Captain 
Miles, married Sarah, daughter of the Hon. 
John Alden, and had: Miles, Ebenezer, Lorah, 




HENRY GURNEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Lydia, Mercy, Sarah, ami Elizabeth. His 
first wife clioil, aiul he married Desire, widow 
of Israel Holmes. Miles, son of Alexander, 
married l-ixpcrience, dau<;hter of his mother-in- 
law by one of lier former luisl)ainls, and hatl : 
Sarah. Patience, I'riscilla, Miles, ant! Pene- 
lope. Miles, son of Miles, second, married 
Mehitable Robbins, lived in South Hridgc- 
water, and had : Miles, Experience, Penelope, 
Hannah, anil perhaps others. 

Penelope Standish, daughter of Miles, 
tiiird, married, in 1763, Nathaniel Cobb, of 
Plympton. Penelope Cobb married Ichabod 
Leach, and had: Jcrathmael, Knoch, 
Ephraim, Backus, and Abigail. 

Abigail Leach married Freeman Jones, and 
had: Linus, John G. , Ichabod, Penelope, 
Olive, Mehitable, Huldah, Phiebe, and Lydia. 
Linus Jones married Phiebe Peabody, and iiad : 
Mary M. ; Abbie; James \V. ; Oliver F. ; 
Benjamin 1?. ; William O. ; and Joseph D. , 
the subject of this sketch. 

Tiie early boyhood of Joseph D. Jones was 
spent on his father's farm in Warren, Me. 
He was an attendant of the common school 
until eleven years of age, but, having been 
obliged from that time to support himself, his 
education has been acquired chiefly in the 
school of practical business experience, among 
the many valuable lessons learned being that 
of self-reliance. In 1858 he went to Stough- 
ton, Mass.. and engaged in the shoemaking 
business, which he followed until 1S80, being 
for a time employed in George Keith's shoe 
shoi) in Campello. He then came to East 
Bridgewater, and purchased the saw-mill that 
he now owns, and which has been in operation 
for sixty years. He put in the first planer 
used in this jiart of the State. After conduct- 
ing it as a saw-mill for five years, he added 
box making, and now the saw-mill department 
is run only winters, but the box manufactory 



is kept in operation the year round. He' 
employs eight hands in the summer and thir- 
teen in the winter. 

On August 8, 1 861, Mr. Jones married 
Jeannette Pratt, of Turner, Me., by whom he 
has four children, namely: Clarence 1{. ; 
Alice K., wife of L. P. Churchill; Benjamin 
O. ; and Daniel H. Clarence V,., the eldest, 
is a cigar manufacturer in Milford, Mass. 
He married Winona Hale. Politically, Mr. 
Jones is a stanch Republican. Fraternally, 
he is a member of Colfax Lodge, Independent 
Order of Odd I-'ellows, at ICast Bridgewater. 




T. PARKER, an enterprising and 
prosperous general merchant of 
Plympton, was born in this town, 
January 29, 1842, son of Zaccheus Parker, a 
lifelong resident,. and formerly a well-known 
merchant here. Mr. Parker's grandfather, 
Jonathan Parker, founded the business which 
has since been carried on liy his descendants, 
and Zaccheus Parker conducted it for a period 
of forty-eight years or until 1867, when he 
was succeeded by his son, a brother of 
Z. T. Parker, the subject of this sketch. 

Z. T. Parker was reared and educated in 
Plympton, and resided here until he was 
twenty-one years old. He then went to Bos- 
ton, where he was employed as a clerk by 
R. H. White & Co. until 1883, when he re- 
turned to this town, and, succeeding to his 
brother's business, has since conducted it with 
success. He continued to occui)y the old 
building until 1S93, when he erected his 
present commodious store, which is furnished 
according to modern ideas, and provided with 
improved heating apparatus, the water for 
which is supplied by the aiil of wind-mills. 
He carries a large and varied stock, including 
dry goods, boots, shoes, and groceries, 



226 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



together with a great variety of general mer- 
chandise, and by promjjtness and fair dealing 
has secured a good patronage. 

Mr. I'arkcr is highly esteemed, both in bus- 
iness and social circles, and has been Post- 
master in Plympton since 18S4. 



OlIN DARLING CHURCHILL, the 
pioneer station agent of the Old Colony 
Railroad in Plymouth, was born here, 
November S, 1817, son of Sylvanus and Lydia 
(Churchill) Churchill. Mr. Churchill's 
grandfather, Zenas Churchill, who was a 
native and a lifelong resident of this town, 
passed the active period of his life in sea- 
faring. 

Sylvanus Churchill, Mr. Churchill's father, 
was born in Plymouth. At an early age he 
began to follow the sea as a means of liveli- 
hood. In the course of time he became an 
able seaman, accjuiring a reputation for his 
agility aloft. One of his feats was to coil a 
rope while making his way to or from the 
mast-head. A man of strong constitution, he 
weathered the storms of the Atlantic for many 
years, and he lived to the age of eighty-two. 
He married Lydia Churchill, daughter of 
Thaddeus Churchill, of Plymouth. By her he 
became the father of seven sons, of whom John 
D. , the youngest, is the only survivor. The 
others were: Sylvanus (first), who died in in- 
fancy; Sylvanus (second), who lived to be 
eighty-two years old; Hiram, who died at 
seventy-nine; Thomas, who died at eighty-six; 
Benjamin, who lived to the age of eighty- 
three; and Josiah, who died at seventy-two 
years. They were all strong, able-bodied 
men and worthy citizens. The parents were 
members of the Orthodo.x church. 

John Darling Churchill was educated in the 
common schools. While still a youth, he 



engaged in seafaring on coasting-vessels. In 
his young manhood he was for a time em- 
ployed as a clerk in a general store for the fit- 
ting out of fishermen. Later he ran a packet 
between Plymouth and Boston. Upon the 
completion of the railroad in 1845, he was 
tendered the position of station agent at Plym- 
outh, to the exclusion of fourteen eligible 
applicants for the post. Though he did not 
desire to relinquish his packet business, he 
was finally prevailed upon to accept, and for 
five years he attended to the company's busi- 
ness here, having entire charge of this end of 
the line. He then resigned in order to devote 
his entire attention to the fishing industry. 
Having entered this business with two small 
vessels, he gradually increased his equipment 
to six stanch, seaworthy craft, which necessi- 
tated the use of two wharves. He was pros- 
perously occupied in this way until 1875, 
when he retired from active business pursuits. 
His vessels were kept constantly in commis- 
sion, making regular trips to the fishing banks, 
generally returning with good catches. He 
was exceptionally fortunate in'keeping them 
above water, his only serious loss having been 
the seizure of one of them by the British au- 
thorities, upon a false charge of fishing within 
their territory. 

In politics he has been a Republican since 
the formation of the party, and he has voted 
at every election for the past fifty-seven years. 
The pressure of business obliged him to de- 
cline the nomination to public offices at dif- 
ferent times. 

Mr. Churchill married for his first wife, 
Marcia J. Holmes, daughter of Thomas 
Holmes, of Plymouth. By this union there 
are three children, namely: John I'ranklin, 
who was born January 11, 1841 ; Frederick 
Lee, who was born February 8, 1 846 ; and 
Josiah D. , who was born October 24, 1853. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



227 



Jolin I-'rankliii Churchill attonded the United 
States Naval School at Annapolis, Md. At 
the age of eighteen he entered the United 
States Navy, in which, during the Civil War, 
he lield the rank of luisign. At the siege 
of i'"ort Fisher he was highly complimented 
!))■ Admiral Porter for his gallant conduct, 
lie is now an accountant. Frederick Lee 
Clunchill is the present Postmaster in Plym- 
outh, anil Josiah D. Churchill is carrying on 
a flourishing mercantile business here. The 
mother died in 1882. The father's second 
marriage was contracted November 30, 1S83, 
with Julia A. Hawley, of Plymouth. He has 
been a membei- of Plymouth Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M., for about thirty years; antl of the Pil- 
grim Societ)- of Plymouth for several years. 




jYRUS IL HARDY, dentist.— In 
these days of specialties, when it is 
the fashion for a professional man 
to restrict himself to one narrow path, the fact 
is sometimes lost sight of, that, to insure 
success, it is well to have some knowledge of 
things outside of one's particular work. Dr. 
Hardy has studied medicine, and can deter- 
mine whether the state of the teeth is due to 
the condition of the system, or that of the sys- 
tem to the teeth ; and he understands thor- 
oughly the methods of administering ether or 
other, anaesthetics without danger to the 
patient. Established for a number of years 
in Ilingham, Mass., he has won the confidence 
of the public, and occupies a front rank in his 
profession. He was born in Wilton, Me., 
September 10, 1833, a son of Dr. Daniel and 
Lucinda (Teague) Hardy. 

The Hardy s are an old New luigland family. 
Two of the earliest colonists bearing this sur- 
name were: John, who settled in -Salem in 
1634; and Thomas, who was one of the first 



twelve settlers of Ipswich, Mass., in 1633, 
and who died in Hradford in 1678, leaving 
several sons. Dr. Cyrus H. Hardy's grand- 
father, Daniel Hardy, was one of the early 
settlers in Wilton, Me. lie was a man of 
means and of strong character, the owner at 
one time of nearly half the township, antl 
exercised, by his upright living and general 
example for good, a healthful intiuence on the 
community. 

Dr. Daniel Hardy, his son, was a successful 
and popular physician, a native and lifelong 
resident of the Pine Tree State. In his early 
life he had ah extensive country practice, cov- 
ering a large territory; and he was subse- 
c[uently actively engaged in professional duties 
in the city of Portland, where he was not 
obliged to take such long and tiresome rides. 
He lived to be ninety-four years old. His 
wife died at the age of seventy-three. Four 
of their children are living: Jose])hine W., 
wife of Rufus Teague, of Turner, Me. : Ade- 
line P., wife of Judge Davidson, of Sierra 
County, California; Francis A., in Hucksport, 
Me. ; and Cyrus H., now of Hingham. 

Cyrus H. Hardy obtained the fundamental 
part of his education in the common schools 
of his native place, which were very good 
schools. He early took up the stutly of metli- 
cine, for which he had a natural taste, with 
his father, who was an.xious for him to become 
a regular physician; but he had a mechanical 
bent, and dentistry had a peculiar charm for 
him, notwithstanding the fact that his father 
was opposed to his being a dentist. He began 
to practise when he was only si.xteen years 
old, pulling teeth for those who would trust 
themselves to him. Teeth in those ilays were 
extracted by means of the old turn-screw, a 
clumsy tool with which the boy dentist was 
much dissatisfied. He ajiiilied to the town 
blacksmith for something better, and that arti- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



sail told him if he would furnish a pattern he 
would make the tool for him. The lad accord- 
ingly fashioned a pair of forceps of wood, and 
the blacksmith made for him a finely finished 
pair of steel. These forceps did excellent 
service, for people came far and near to "the 
boy with the pincers " to have their trouble- 
some teeth removed. 

In the mean time the lad was studying med- 
icine with his father, and he subsequently 
took a course at a medical school of the eclec- 
tic order on Boylston Street, Boston. He was 
graduated at Beach's Medical School when 
he was twenty-two years old, and he subse- 
quently studied the formation and use of 
chemicals and manufactured chemicals and 
chemical combinations; then, after practising 
medicine for a while with his father, he 
took up the study of dentistry, and going to 
California with his brother, a regular physi- 
cian, he practised medicine and surgery there 
for a while, making a specialty of dentistry. 
About twenty-three years ago he became a 
resident of Hingham, and at that time he was 
still making a study of the science of den- 
tistry. After a term under the excellent in- 
struction of Dr. Sargeant, of Tremont Temple, 
he opened an office in Hingham. This was 
fourteen years ago, and Dr. Hardy now has a 
large and lucrative patronage, his work being 
its own advertisement. His office is in the 
Water Company's building. 

Dr. Hardy married Julia Roby, of Charles- 
ton, S. C, who died in 1890, leaving the fol- 
lowing children: Ida Blanche, who is still 
with her father; Herbert O. , foreman of the 
Jourtial printing office in this town; Cyrus 
Daniel, a graduate of the Massachusetts Col- 
lege of Pharmacy, now in charge of a labora- 
tory in Providence, R.I.; and Forrester, who 
is still at home. In politics the Doctor is a 
Republican. He is superintendent of the 



Sunday-school connected with the Methodist 
church, and takes an active interest in the 
work of the society. His home, which is on 
Lafayette Avenue, stands on an elevation, and 
commands a beautiful view of the surrounding; 
country. The Doctor is a genial, pleasant- 
mannered man, and has a large circle of 
friends. 




RP:D C. sparrow, carpenter and 
builder, is one of the intelligent and 
successful business men of Middleboro, 
Mass. He was born in this town, January ig, 
1857, a son of James P. and Persis L. (Smith) 
Sparrow, and is of the third generation of his 
family in the vicinity, his paternal grand- 
father, James Sparrow, having been an old 
resident of Fall Brook. James P. Sparrow, 
son of the elder James, was born in Middle- 
boro, and was for a number of years in busi- 
ness here as a carpenter and builder. He 
died July 5, 1885, at the age of sixty years. 
His wife died February 17, 1892, at the age 
of sixty-seven. They reared six children, 
namely: Alice L. , wife of W. F. Davis, of 
Duxbury, Mass. ; Albert S., a resident of 
Middleboro; Samuel J.; P"red C, of Middle- 
boro; Priscilla E., wife of John C. Starbuck, 
of tllmwood; and Sarah L., wife of T. A. F. 
Washburn, an undertaker of Middleboro. 

F"red C. , the second son, as he grew to man- 
hood attended the schools of his native town, 
and, making rapid progress, entered the high 
school before he was thirteen years old. He 
had a natural aptitude for the use of tools, and 
when a boy was always busy upon some 
mechanical contrivance. At the age of eigh- 
teen he went to work for his father, and his 
apprenticeship was a very short one, as he 
seemed to know by intuition all the mysteries 
of the joiner's craft. He was associated with 
his father some ten years, and just before his 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



229 



father's death he assumed charge of the busi- 
ness. It is needless to say that he has been 
successful, and has finisheil many im[)ortant 
contracts. 

Mr. Sparrow was married b\' the Rev. N. J. 
Dyer (it being his first marriage ceremony), 
September 22, 1878, to Miss Sarah F. C. 
King, a most estimable lady of sujjerior intel- 
ligence and ability. They have two children. 
The elder, Fred S., who was born August 15, 
1S82, is an active-minded lad and a great 
reader — apparently as fond of brain work as 
his father at the same age was of handicraft. 
He rises at daybreak in order to give more 
time to his beloved books. The other child, 
Sarah K., died June 13, 1892, having lived 
but thirteen months. 

Mr. Sparrow is Vice-President of the Re- 
publican Club of Midcileboro, has served at 
many elections as ballot clerk, and has been 
in office as Constable for the past nine years. 
He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men, and the Junior Order of American 
Mechanics; and he is insured in a number of 
life, endowment, and accident companies, in- 
cluding the Massachusetts Mutual benefit As- 
sociation, the Union Relief Association, and 
the Citizens' Aid Society. His wife is an 
active member of the Congregational church. 

Mr. and Mrs .Sparrow have a very pleasant 
home at 21 I'lyniplon Street. The house is 
the same, remodelled, in which his father was 
born, and where he died. It also was the 
birthplace of Mr. Sparrow; and here he hopes 
to die as soon as his days of usefulness are 
over. The house was erected as a parsonage 
by the Rev. .Sylvanus Conant, the fourth 
pastor of the l^'irst Congregational Church in 
Middleboro, in 1752. It was afterward occu- 
pied by the -Rev. Joseph Harker, the fifth 
pastor, who sold it to James Sparrow, the 



grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
Although it is one of the historic landmarks 
of old Middleboro, it stands to-day as erect 
and well preserved as any of the modern 
houses, anil bids defiance to the storms of 
another century. 




.Al'TAIX .\I.l)i;\ HK.SSK is a re- 
tired ship-master, residing in the vil- 
lage of Wareham, I'lyniouth County, 
Mass., where he was born on April g, 1821. 

His father, Samuel Hesse, was a lifelong 
resident of Wareham, and was engaged in sea- 
faring pursuits during his early manhooii. In 
the War of 1812, when he was visiting his 
brother at West Island, he was taken by the 
English, who made him pilot of their vessel, 
up as far as Bird Island. Eventually he was 
given his liberty at Martha's Vineyard. He 
married Elizabeth Young, a native of Ware- 
ham, and they became the parents of si.x chil- 
dren, as follows: Charles H., who died Janu- 
ary II, 1892, aged seventy-si.\ years, eight 
months, seven days; Samuel B. , who died 
June 22, i860, aged forty-three years, three 
months, twenty days; Isaac Y., who died 
March 27, 1849, aged thirty-two years, three 
months, twenty days; Zeruiah Y., who died 
March 28, 185 1, aged thirty -two years, one 
month, si.x days; Rodolphus, who died March 
5, 1878, aged fifty-four years, ten months, 
fourteen days; and Aklen, the only one now 
living. 

Samuel Besse, the father, died August 16, 
1863, aged seventy-seven years, eleven 
months, seventeen days; and the mother, 
Elizabeth Besse, died April 5, 1863, aged 
seventy-seven years, four months. 

Alden Besse left home when but twelve 
years old to go on board a coasting-vessel, on 
which he was employed si.x years. He then 



230 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



shipped before the mast on the whaling brig 
"Inga," which cruised in the North and South 
Atlantic seven months. He subsequently 
made a second voyage of the same length on 
the same vessel, and cruising over the same 
waters, but held the position of boat-steerer. 
His third and fourth voyages also were made 
on the "Inga," but he had been promoted in 
each case, going out first as second mate and 
later as first mate. He then sailed from New 
Bedford on the bark "Charleston Packet," as 
master, being away from home eighteen 
months at that time. The following three 
years he had command of the bark "Hecla," 
spending the time chiefly on the North Pacific. 
Captain Besse on his return remained with his 
family six months, and then returned to New 
Bedford to take charge of the ship "John 
Wells," going to the Okhotsk Sea, where he 
cruised two seasons. After spending a year 
in VVareham, he next went out on a sperm 
whaling trip, as master of the ship "Hunter," 
to the coast of New Zealand, this time being 
away four years. Two years later he made a 
cruise in the same vessel on the Atlantic 
Ocean for nearly two years, that being his last 
voyage. He was engaged in whaling from 
1839 until 1 868, being master of a vessel from 
1846, and in his voyages meeting with invari- 
able success. He is a good business man, 
noted for his honest and upright dealings, and 
in the course of his career has accumulated 
considerable property, having been the owner 
of several vessels engaged in freighting for 
foreign ports, and he is still interested in 
these pursuits to some extent. 

Captain Besse was married December 26, 
1852, to Mrs. Betsey S. (Jenney) Besse, the 
widow of his brother Isaac. Mrs. Besse had 
two children by her first marriage, namely: 
Charles A., who lived but nine months; and 
Adelaide S., wife of Gideon M. Washburn, of 



Brockton, Mass. Captain and Mrs. Besse 
have had two children, of whom Frank A., a 
book-keeper in the National Bank of Ware- 
ham, is the only one living, Isaac H., the 
youngest child, having died at the age of two 
years and five months. 

In politics Captain Besse is a strong advo- 
cate of the principles of the Republican party, 
and takes an active interest in local affairs, 
having served in nearly all the offices within 
the gift of his fellow-townsmen. From 1868 
until 1880 he was one of the Selectmen of 
Wareham, and at the same time was Assessor 
and Overseer of the Poor. He has also filled 
an unexpired term as Town Treasurer and Col- 
lector. In 1871 and 1873 he represented his 
dist-rict in the State legislature. The Cajjtain 
has been a member of the Board of Directors 
of the National Bank of Wareham for fifteen 
years, and is a Vice-President, Trustee, and 
one of the Investment Committee of the Ware- 
ham Savings Bank. 




LBKRT CULVER, of Rockland, Mass., 
senior member of the firm of A. Culver 
Company, dealers in coal, wood, hay, 
flour, and grain, and other merchandise, is a 
self-made man, who has won his way from a 
haid-working boyhood to a mature manhood, 
blessed by wealth and position. He was born 
in the town of Poultney, Rutland County, 
Vt., January 10, 1838, son of Isaac C. and 
Maria (Mead) Culver, natives of the Green 
Mountain State. 

Isaac C. Culver, who was a farmer, removed 
about 1 84 1 to Niagara County, New York, and 
there followed the pursuit of agriculture for 
fifty-six years. He died at the age of eighty- 
six, his wife living to be fourscore and four. 
They had a family of eleven children, two of 
whom died in infanc)'. A son, John M., also 



# 



i^ 




ALBERT CULVER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



233 



is deceased, and a daughter, Julia, died in 
North Abington. The survivors are: Fran- 
cis, residing in Compton, Cal.; Fredericit and 
Ann M., in Niagara County, New York; 
Mary J., in Detroit, Mich.; Charles and 
I-ouisa, in Niagara County, New York; and 
Albert, the subject of this sketch. 

Albert Culver was three years old when his 
parents removed to New York State, and he 
was there reared on a farm. He was given 
scant educational privileges, being obliged, 
from the time that he was ten years old, to 
work in the growing season, and to make the 
most of his opportunities for schooling in the 
winter; but he was naturally intelligent, and 
in course of time acquired a store of practical 
knowledge, his teachers being necessity and 
experience. He remained on the home farm 
until eighteen years of age, and then went to 
work for his brother John, a merchant who 
dealt in feed and coal in North Abington, 
Mass. With his brother he remained about 
fifteen months; and he was subsequently I'n 
the employ of Deacon Ford, a North Abington 
grocer, for fifteen months; in the Union Store 
at the same place, two years; and in a grocery 
store at East Abington, three months. 

While employed in these various places he 
had perfected himself as an accountant, and he 
was next engaged as book-keeper in a shoe 
factory, where he remained eleven years. 
Although almost wholly self-educated, he was 
an expert at this kind of clerical work; and 
when the Hanover branch of the railroad was 
built, Mr. Lane, one of his employers at the 
factory, being Treasurer of the railroad com- 
pany, gave Mr. Culver full charge of the rail- 
road accounts. His duties included the issu- 
ing of notices and the receipt and expenditure 
of funds; and he displayed such good. judg- 
ment and practical ability that, on Mr. Lane's 
death, he was appointed Treasurer of the cor- 



poration. He was in office some ten years, 
until the road was sold to the Old Colony 
Company. 

In his present business he was at first asso- 
ciated with the Lane IJrothers and others. 
The Lanes retired after a while, and for eleven 
years the firm was Culver, Phillips & Co. 
Seven years ago Mr. Culver inirchasod the 
entire business, which has since been under 
his direction solely. There were originally a 
number of branch stores, one of which was in 
Hanover, Mass. It has required firmness and 
determination to carry on this extensive busi- 
ness, for there was opposition to be overcome, 
not only from men, but also from nature. 
The large warehouse on Union Street, oppo- 
site the railroad station, is built partly on 
swampy ground, and it required patience and 
skilful engineering to establish a firm founda- 
tion. Mr. Culver was not to be turned aside 
from his purpose by an obstacle. He went 
steadily on, and accomplished all that he had 
intended. He is a Director of the Rockland 
National Bank, which he was active in organ- 
izing; and he is a Trustee of the Savings 
Bank, and a member of the Investing Com- 
mittee. 

Mr. Culver was married in 1862 to Nancy 
S. Howland, of East Abington, daughter of 
Jonathan Howland, and they have two chil- 
dren: Annie M. , born Sejitember 23, 1867, 
wife of E. B. Church, of Rockland ; and Ethel 
M., born October 24, 1875, who has not yet 
left her parents. 

Politically, Mr. Culver is a stanch Republi- 
can. He takes a lively interest in local im- 
provements, and contributes liberally to every- 
thing calculated to advance the interests of the 
town. He was quite active in the organiza- 
tion of the Rockland Commercial Club, an 
association of business men, of which he is a 
charter member; and he is a member of 



234 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Standish Lodge, Odd Fellows, of Rockland. 
Mr. Culver has a handsome residence at 8 
School Street. 




JDWARD A. GAMMONS, Cashier of 
the National Bank of Warcham, and 
Treasurer of the Wareham Savings 
Bank, was born in South Wareham, Mass., 
January 15, 1842, a son of William and Deb- 
orah B. (Gallt) Gammons. Soon after his 
birth his parents removed to East Weymouth, 
but two years later settled in Wareham, near 
Parker Mills. Here their son Edward was 
educated, attending the common schools of 
this town. 

At the age of eight years he began working 
in the Parker mills, where he was employed 
during the winter for several years, while in 
the summer months he followed the sea. In 

1862, in the month of October, Mr. Gammons 
enlisted as a private in Company 15, Third 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was 
mustered into service at Camp Joe Hooker. 
Going thence to North Carolina with his 
regiment, he was stationed at New Berne, 
and took an active part in various battles in 
that locality, being in the midst of the conflict 
at Kingston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro, and 
in various minor engagements. In June, 

1863, at the expiration of his term of enlist- 
ment, he was discharged from service at Camp 
Joe Hooker. On returning to Wareham, Mr. 
Gammons entered what is now known as the 
National Bank at Wareham as a clerk, a posi- 
tion which he had filled twelve years when he 
was appointed Assistant Cashier. Ten years 
later he was made Treasurer and Cashier of 
the above-named bank, succeeding Thomas R. 
Miles, who died in March, 1885, and who was 
connected with the bank as Cashier from the 
date of incorporation in 1833, excepting five 



years. Mr. Miles entered banking business at 
the age of twelve, having his first experience 
at Newport, R.I., being there about ten years. 
He then accepted the position of Paying 
Teller in the Merchants' Bank at Providence, 
R.I., where he remained until 1833, when he 
came to Wareham. He was a man highly re- 
spected and valued in the community, having 
good judgment in financial matters, and an 
extensive acquaintance. His memory is held 
sacred by the inhabitants of Wareham and 
vicinity. 

On January 15, 1867, Mr. Gammons married 
Mary B. Billings, a daughter of Warren and 
Mary F. (Caswell) Billings, of Wareham. 
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gammons three 
children have been born, namely: Mary B. , 
wife of Frank A. Besse; William, a clerk in 
the employ of the Boston Dry-goods Company ; 
and Henry Elliott, who is employed in the 
Compressed Steel Shafting Works at South 
Boston. Politically, Mr. Gammons affiliates 
with the Democratic party. He is a valued 
member of Social Harmony Lodge, A. h\ & 
A. M., of which he is now Secretary; and of 
the General William T. Sherman Post, No. 
20S, Grand Army of the Republic. 



(sJY ^-EXANDER R. GURNEY, the engi- 
f^ neer in charge of the Middleboro 
^ V..^ Pumping Station, is a man of 
unusual ability. He was born in Marion, 
Mass., March 23, 1848, son of Rufus H. anVl 
Phcebe (Gaboon) Gurney. Rufus H. Gurney 
was a ship-carpenter by trade. He followed 
the sea for some time in his youth, and again, 
after 1869, when he was ship navigator, and 
visited several of the West India Islands. He 
had many tales to tell of the strange sightg and 
peoples he had seen. After settling perma- 
nently on land, he gave his attention to 



BIOGRAPHICAL RRVIF.W 



235 



mechanical work, in which ho was naturally 
skilled. In December, 1861, he enlisted for 
three years' service in the Civil War, joining 
Company II, Twenty-ninth Regiment, Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers. At the end of this term 
he joined the ranks again, and served till the 
close of the war. .Shortly before Lee's sur- 
render he was captured, and spent two weeks 
in the hands of the Confederates. His 
mechanical skill caused him to be in much 
demand J in the surgeon's department. He 
died in 1887, aged sixty-four years, si.\ 
months, nine days. His wife, who was a 
Plymouth girl, after surviving him about four 
years, died aged sixty -eight years, nine 
months, twenty days. Their children were: 
Mary, Alexander R. , Freeman F., and Anna 
1*". Mary is now the wife of Benjamin S. 
Keyes, of Middleboro; and Anna F. is the 
wife of G. H. Bourne. 

Alexander R. Gurney attended the common 
schools of Wareham, whither his parents re- 
moved when he was five years old. He spent 
one season on the sea in his nineteenth year, 
but his boyhood was principally spent in farm 
work. This occupation not being to his 
liking, he learned to manage an engine, begin- 
ning as a fireman. His carefulness and intel- 
ligence in time won for him high recommen- 
dations and constant employment. In 1885, 
after filling responsible positions in Brockton 
and Wareham, he was appointed to his present 
position. He has now a license as a first-class 
engineer, under the act of 1895. The general 
appearance of the pumping station plainly in- 
dicates that it is in thoroughly competent 
hands. Mr. Gurney is a voluntary observer 
for the Agricultural Department of the United 
States, and keeps a full and systematic meteo- 
rological record, noting temperature, precipi- 
tation, winds, clouds, frosts, etc. 

In 1887 Mr. Gurney was married to Miss 



Alice W. Lnring, of Wareham. In politics 
he favors the Repid)lican side. He belongs 
to one fraternal association, the Royal Society 
of Good Fellows. He accompanies Mrs. Gur- 
ney to the Congregational Church, of which 
she is a communicant. He has a pleasant 
home at 3 Rock Street. 



OSIAH W. ATWOOD, a farmer of 
Carver, was born in Carver Centre, 
April 2, 1S44. His parents were 
Ebenazer and Waitstill (Lucus) Atwood, who 
had ten other childrep; namely, Mary A., 
Stilmans, Waitstill S., Sarah, Abbie, Louisa, 
Ebenezer, Charles H., Hannah, and George S. 
Mr. Atwood grew up on his father's farm, re- 
ceiving his education in, the district schools. 
He was still beneath the family roof tree 
when the Civil War broke out. In Septem- 
ber, 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Third 
Massachusetts Infantry; and his company was 
mustered at Lakeville, tljis county. )(The reg- 
iment was shortly after sent to North Caro- 
lina, where it took part in the actions at King- 
ston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro. -Mr. Atwood 
was honorably discharged at Lakeville in 
June, 1866. 

On returning to his home, illness, resulting 
from the hardships to which he was exposed in 
the army, rendered him unable to resume his 
former routine of life for some time. As soon 
as he was sufficiently recuperated he began to 
work at farming. ,( In 1864, while at home, his 
term of service having expired, he was joined 
in matrimony with Miss Lydia Gammons. 
Their only child is Sadie F., now a teacher of 
music. Soon after his marriage Mr. Atwood 
moved to the farm upon which he now resides, 
and which he has since cultivated. In politi- 
cal affiliation he is a Democrat, and belongs 
to the Grand Army of the Republic, Colling- 



236 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wood Post, No. 76, where, among his war- 
worn comrades, he recalls his military 
experience. 

(^AMES F. ANDERSON, a well-known 
tack manufacturer of Rockland, Mass., 
was born in Sandwich, Cape Cod, 
October i, 1857, son of William P. and 
Hannah T. (Vaughn) Anderson. William P. 
Anderson, who was a Virginian by birth, and 
by profession an engineer, went to Sandwich, 
Mass., where he spent the rest of his life. 
His wife, Hannah, was a native of Plymouth 
County, Massachusetts. They became the 
parents of thirteen children, seven boys and 
six girls, of whom seven are now living. 
Mrs. Hannah Anderson, who is now seventy- 
si.K years old, resides with her son, James F. 
Mrs. Anderson takes a pardonable pride in her 
large family, all of whose members as they 
grew up subsequently reflected credit upon 
their parents. 

James F. Anderson, who was the seventh son 
born to his parents, resided at home until he 
was twenty-one years old, and received a prac- 
tical education. His first employment was in 
a glass factory in his native town, where he 
remained for about one year, having begun 
work at the age of twenty. A year later he 
learned the art of manufacturing tacks, and 
going to Whitman, in this county, he worked 
at that trade for some time. He afterward 
came to Rockland, where he found employ- 
ment in the same line of industry with 
French, Hall & Company, who established 
their large business here in 1884. Going into 
their factory, he worked faithfully until two 
years ago, when he bought out the plant, and 
has since conducted it himself. His business 
is the only one of the kind in the place, and 
under his effective management it has grown to 
large proportions. His goods are sold over a 



wide extent of country, going as far as St. 
Louis, St. Paul, and other large Western 
cities. 

On November 17, 1885, he was married to 
Helen D. Wentworth, of East Bridgewater. 
Mr. Anderson has a comfortable dwelling- 
house on Maple Street, not very far from his 
factory and offices, which are on Grove Street. 
In his political opinions Mr. Anderson is a 
stanch Republican, but has taken no very 
active part in politics. He belongs to the In- 
dependent Order of Odd I^"ellows, being a 
charter member of the lodge at Whitman. 
He is an active and prominent member of the 
Congregational church. 



M 



E WITT CLINTON BATES, Chair- 
man of the Board of Selectmen, As- 
sessors, and Overseers of the Poor 
of the town of Hingham, Mass., formerly a 
well-known public-school teacher of Plymouth 
County, is now residing on a farm a short dis- 
tance from Hingham Centre, and about a mile 
from Hingham, and engaged in market garden- 
ing. He was born in Cohasset, Norfolk 
County, Mass., October 28, 1827, a son of Lot 
and Winifred (F^llms) Bates. 

The founder of the Bates family in America 
came to these shores a few years after the set- 
tlement at Plymouth in 1620. Of that remote 
progenitor, the following is recorded in the 
"History of Hingham": Clement Bates (Bate, 
Batte), aged forty, with his wife, Anna, and 
five children, embarked at London for New 
England, April 6, 1635, i" the ship "Eliza- 
beth." On his arrival he settled in Hingham, 
at about the time the Rev. Peter Hobart and 
his followers came here; and on September 
18, 1635, he received a grant of land on Town 
(South) Street. This lot contained five acres, 
and was bounded on the north-east by land of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



237 



Cicorf^c Russell, and (in the soiitli-wcst by land 
of Thomas Johnson. It was the fifth in num- 
ber from Bachelor (Main) Street, and has been 
in the possession of some of the posterity of 
the original grantee for nearly two and a half 
centuries. In 1S83 the estate, including an 
ancient dwelling-house formerly known as the 
"Anchor Tavern," was sold to the owners of 
the land adjuining. .\ poitinn nf the estate, 
however, has since been repurchased ; and on 
the spot where the old house stood, a dwelling 
of mocrern style has been erected, and is now 
occupied by a descendant of the early colonist. 
The name "Bate" was a common one in Eng- 
land for nearly two centuries before any of the 
family took their departure for America; and 
the linglish ancestors of Clement are traceable 
for five generations prior to that time. 

The father of Clement Bates was James, 
who died in 1614, at Lydd, Parish of All Hal- 
lows, lingland. Anna, wife of Clement, died 
in Hingham, Mass., October i, 1669, aged 
seventy-four. Clement ilietl September 17, 
167 1, aged seventy-si.x. Clement and Anna 
Bates had si.x children, of whom only the 
youngest was born in Hingham. Joseph, 
their fourth child, who was born in England 
about 1630, married in Hingham, Mass., Jan- 
uary g, 1657, listher, daughter of William 
Hilliard. Joseph Bates died April 30, 1706, 
and his wife Esther on June 3, 1709. He was 
a bricklayer by trade. He served as Constable 
three years, and as Selectman four years; and 
in 1673 he was appointed se.xton of the parish, 
in which capacity he served a number of years. 
He rcsitled on the paternal homestead on 
South Street. Joseph and ICsther Bates had a 
family of nine children. 

Joshua, their filth child, was born in Hing- 
ham, August 14, 1 67 1. He was married Jan- 
uary 15, 1695, to Rachel Tower, who was born 
in Hingham March 16, 1674, daughter of 



I brook and Margaret (Hardin) Tower. Seven 
children were born of this union. Joshua, 
Jr., the second of these, was born June 15, 
1698. He married December 28, 1 731, Abi- 
gail Joy, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
(Andrews) Joy. .She was born in Hingham, 
December 29, 1701, and survived her husband, 
who died March iTi, 1766. He was a brick 
layer, and at his death left a large estate. In 
1735 he served as Constable of the town. 

Nathaniel, the fifth of the seven children of 
Joshua and Abigail Bates, was born October 3, 
1733, in Hingham. On December 18, 1760, 
he married Mary Hamlen. His residence was 
on Beech wood Street, and his life was spent 
in Hingham, except the period of his absence 
as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Na- 
thaniel and Mary Bates had two sons, namely: 
Cornelius, who died in 1850, aged eighty-eight 
years; and Jessaniah, the grandfather of De 
Witt Clinton, the special subject of this brief 
biography. His birth occurred in Hingham, 
June 29, 1768, and, after he established a 
home of his own, he lived on Beechwood 
Street, Cohasset, where he followed farming. 
He married Phrebe Litchfield, of Scituate, 
who died April 13, 1S49, aged seventy-five 
years. His death occurred nearly five years 
later, March 6, 1854. Their eight children, 
all born at Cohas.set, were: Pht^be, Rufus, 
Lot, Lewis, Warren, Silas, Mary, and Eze- 
kiel. Lot Bates, the father of De Witt Clin- 
ton, was born in 1802. He married Winifred 
El 1ms, and they had three children, born at 
Cohasset — De Witt Clinton, Lot W., and one 
that died. Lot W. Bates resides in Cohasset. 

De Witt Clinton Bates attended the com- 
mon school until fourteen years old, at which 
time, having made good progress in his 
studies, he entered the Cohasset High School. 
He continued to live on the farm with his 
parents until he was seventeen, and then went 



238 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to Dorchester to learn the carjienter's trade, 
remaining there until twenty-one years of age. 
Returning to his home in Cohasset, he after- 
ward studied under the Rev. Joseph Osgood, 
and at the Merrimack Normal Institute in 
New Hampshire; and, beginning in 185 1, he 
taught school, first in Cohasset, then two 
years in Hingham, two years in North Brain- 
tree, and twelve years in the Hingham Centre 
Grammar School. While teaching the last- 
named school, in 1866 and 1867, he repre- 
sented Hingham at the General Court. In 
1 87 1 he was elected to the offices of Select- 
man, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, 
which he has held continuously since that 
time, and he has been Chairman of the Board 
the past fifteen years. In politics he was for- 
merly a Free Soiler; and since 1856, when he 
cast his Presidential vote for John C. Fre- 
mont, he has affiliated with the Republican 
party. 

Mr. Bates and Sarah A. Burbank were 
married on May 8, 1853, and their union has 
been blessed by the birth of six children : 
William Clinton, a graduate of Harvard Col- 
lege, in the class of 1877, and now Superin- 
tendent of Schools in I'all River, Mass. ; 
Plllery Webster, who died while attending 
Harvard College: Mary Winifred, a teacher, 
living at home with her parents; Herbert 
Osgood, a farmer, also living at the parental 
home; Sarah Flizabeth, a teacher in the Hing- 
ham Centre Grammar School; and Grace Lin- 
coln, deceased. William Clinton Bates, the 
eldest son, married Edith F. Taggert, and has 
two children — Edith Dorothea and Clement 
Taggert. 



APTAIN WILLIAM S. McFAR- 
LIN, a veteran of the Civil War, and 
m esteemed citizen of Carver, 
Plymouth County, Mass., was born on the 




farm on which he now resides, July 11, 1827, 
son of Sampson and Polly (Shurtleff) McP"ar- 
lin. He is the eldest of a family of ten chil- 
dren, eight sons and two daughters ; namely, 
William S., Almena L., Horatio, Charles H., 
Thomas H., Charles D., Polly S. , Henry L., 
Peleg, and Jason B. Henry L. McFarlin, the 
sixth son, enlisted in Company li, of the P'or- 
tieth Massachusetts Regiment, with which he 
served until the battle of Cold Harbor, early 
in June, 1864, when he was mortally wounded, 
and died nine days later. He had risen from 
the ranks to the position of First Sergeant, 
and a Lieutenant's commission awaited him at 
his death. Mrs. Polly McFarlin died at 
thirty-eight years of age. Her husband sur- 
vived her many years, dying on the farm now 
owned by his son, William S. , at the age of 
eighty-two. 

William S. McFarlin spent his boyhood and 
his early manhood, up to twenty-three years of 
age, on his present farm. He then began 
working at the iron moulder's trade, which he 
followed until the breaking out of the Civil 
War. He had previously been a Captain in 
the State militia, and he was one of the first 
to go into service, responding to the first call 
for seventy-five thousand men, and going di- 
rect to Fortress Monroe. After being out 
between three and four months, he returned 
home and raised one hundred men in Carver 
and adjoining towns, forming what was after- 
ward known as Company C, Elighteenth Mas- 
sachusetts Volunteer Infantry. They went to 
Washington, were there ordered to join the 
Army of the Potomac, and were in the en- 
gagements at Yorktown, Hanover Court-house, 
and the Seven Days' P"ight in front of Rich- 
mond. On the Peninsula, June 27, 1862, in 
the march from Cold Harbor to White House 
Landing, Captain McFarlin receiveil a sun- 
stroke, from the effects of which he was under 




WILLIAM L. DOUGLAS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



241 



the iloctoi's care for about two niontlis. He 
then went to Fredericksburg, but was subse- 
quently confined in the Dou^jlas Hospital at 
VVashin.i^ton for aliout six weeks. On account 
of his impaired liealth, as soon as al)]e to leave 
the hospital, he resigned liis commission in 
the army, and returned to Carver. At the 
present time he is engaged in carrying on the 
old homestead farm, cranberries being one of 
the principal crops thereon. 

On I\Ia\ 9, i8gi. Captain McFarlin was 
married to Miss Elizabeth C. Monroe, widow 
of Granville Monroe, of Bridgewater, Mass., 
and daughter of David W'ilber. In 1873 and 
1874 Captain Mcl'^arlin was a member of the 
State Board of Police, and was stationed at 
Wareham. He lias also served as Constable 
and on the School Board. In politics he is a 
stanch Republican. He is a member of Plym- 
outh Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; of Winthrop 
Lodge of Good Templars; and Post No. 8, 
Grand Army of the Repidilic, of Midclleboro. 
Captain I\Icl'"arlin is a communicant of the 
Methodist Episcoj^al church, of which he is a 
Trustee, and is active in other offices. 




ON. WILLIAM LE:WIS DOUG- 
LAS, of Brockton, originator of 

L'^^ V_ , the famous "Douglas three-dollar 

shoe," was born in the town of Plymouth, 
Mass., August 22, 1845. The death of his 
parents left him at an early age wholly de- 
pendent on his own exertions for a livelihood. 
His schooling was limited; but he had plenty 
of determination and pluck, and, obtaining 
employment in a shoe shop, he gave his tal- 
ents and whole attention to thoroughly and 
systematically learning the trade. His close 
application to business and the interest 
shown in his work soon attracted the notice 
of his employer, who early recognized the 



al)ility of the man, and it was not long be- 
fore he occupied positions of importance, all 
of which he filled most satisfactorily. Mr. 
Douglas became a resident of Brockton, then 
North Bridgewater, in 1870, and worked in 
several factories there. In July, 187^), he 
began business for himself, with small capital 
but plenty of confidence. At that time was 
laid the foundation of the enormous business 
which he controls at the present time. 

Besides manufacturing shoes, Mr. Douglas 
is engaged in other business enterprises. Ik- 
is President of the People's Savings Bank; 
Director of the Home National Bank; Vice- 
President of the Brockton City Hospital Asso- 
ciatit)n; and jjroprietor of the Brockton Daily 
Times, a newspaper occupying already an im- 
portant place in the journalistic field of Mas- 
sachusetts, although comparatively young. 

In Brockton affairs Mr. Douglas has been 
particularly conspicuous, and he has done 
much in promoting the interests of this thriv- 
ing city. Through his advertising alone he 
has made the name of Brockton almost as 
famous as his three-dollar shoe. In politics 
Mr. Douglas has always been a Democrat. 
Although his district is largely Republican, 
he has been twice elected to the State legisla- 
ture, and once to the State Senate. He 
served in both places with honor to his constit- 
uency and to himself, doing much to benefit 
factory employees, and originating the famous 
"Arbitration Bill," creating the State Board 
of Arbitration. The principle of arbitration 
has been established in his factory since 1S8S, 
and it has proved satisfactory both to himself 
and his employees. In 1890 Mr. Douglas was 
elected Mayor of Brockton, and on three dif- 
ferent occasions he served in the City Council. 
While in the service of the city he improved 
the various departments, by introducing busi- 
ness methods in transacting the affairs of the 



242 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



city. Mr. Douglas i.s at present Chairman of 
the Sewerage Commission, and takes great in- 
terest in the commission's work. 

As a manufacturer Mr. Douglas has made 
the welfare of his employees a major consider- 
ation. As far as business would permit, he 
has made their work as agreeable and remu- 
nerative as it is possible to do. For their 
benefit he has established free medical attend- 
ance, any person in his employ being entitled 
to receive the best medical treatment without 
any expense. 

Mr. Douglas is exceedingly domestic in his 
habits and tastes. Surrounded by his family, 
he thoroughly enjoys life in his beautiful 
home on West Elm Street. Few men are 
better known or more highly regarded in the 
commercial world to-day. 



(S>r^'^ERT LORING MURDOCK, the 
tijA proprietor of Murdock's Liquid Food, 
' '°V_^ and a summer resident of Hingham, 
was born in Boston, September 4, 1829, son 
of Amasa Murdock, Jr., and his wife, Jane 
(Loriug) Murdock. His grandfather, Amasa 
Murdock, Sr. , was a wheelwright and carriage- 
maker in Boston for many years. A genial, 
sociable man, a Whig in politics, and a Uni- 
versalist in religious belief, the grandfather 
had many friends, was highly esteemed, and 
lived to the age of eighty-five years. His 
first wife, whose maiden name was Crane, was 
the mother of four cliiUlren, none of whom are 
now living. She died at the early age of 
thirty-five years. PI is second wife, formerly 
a Miss Green, who had no children, lived to 
the age of seventy years. 

Amasa Murdock, Jr., was a native and life- 
long resident of Boston. From early manhood 
until his death, which occurred in April, 
1843, ^t the age of thirty-nine years, he was 



engaged in business as a plane-maker, in the 
firm of Gardner & Murdock on Green Street. 
In politics he was a Democrat. A Univer- 
sal ist in religious faith, he attended Dr. Bar- 
rett's church on Chambers Street. His wife 
survived him, attaining the age of seventy- 
seven years. They had four children, three 
of whom are now living, namely: Albert L., 
the subject of this sketch; Alonzo A., now of 
Boston ; and Mary Jane, the wife of Washing- 
ton King, of Lynn, Mass., and mother of two 
children — Cora and Jennie. 

Albert Loring Murdock, elder son of his 
father, grew to manhood in Boston, and was 
educated in the public schools. On leaving 
school, he gave some time to the study of life 
insurance, collecting and examining statistics. 
Prompted by the information he acquired in 
this way, he procured the passage of the law 
requiring the payment of the value of forfeited 
insurance. Later he established the John 
Hancock Life Insurance Company. In July, 
1 86 1, just after the first battle of Bull Run, 
he was one of the three men through whose 
efforts was raised the Boston contribution of 
twenty-two hundred cases of hospital stores 
and seven thousand dollars in money, which 
he was deputed to take to the front. At the 
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 
Mr. Murdock was very active, being largely 
instrumental in securing exhibits from the 
manufacturers of this State, and being espe- 
cially successful in the collecting of the agri- 
cultural exhibit. In 1881, after twelve years 
spent in experimenting, he brought before the 
public the Liquid Food which bears his 
name, and which has been received with such 
signal favor. The use of this food in the free 
hospitals which he founded and sustained in 
Boston, including the Surgical Hospital for 
Women, which was continued for six years 
and in which three thousand two hundred and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



243 



seventy-eight cases were treated, with the hiss 
of only five on the last thousand, was a strik- 
ing confirmation of its value. 

Mr. Murdock was married on November 25, 
1S55, to Helen W. Loring, daughter of ICnos 
and Jane (Hersey) Loring, of Hinghani, Mass. 
They have two sons — Albert \V. and Walter 
A. Mr. Murilock is a Rc]niblican in ijoli- 
tics. He makes his home in the winter in 
Boston and in the summer at Hingham. In 
the latter place he has a beautiful country 
seat, a farm of about one hundred and fifty 
acres, with a fine residence, grounds orna- 
mented with fountains antl statuary, and a 
thick-set grove, with four miles of foot paths. 
His estate includes the old Gushing farm, on 
which stands a small house built in 1687, 
called I'ilgrim Cottage, the most ancient 
ilwelling in Plymouth County. Its stout tim- 
bers are of oak. With a \iew to preserving 
this time-honored domicile as a memorial of 
past generations and a connecting link there- 
witii, Mr. Murdock has had the original inside 
finishing taken out, and replaced with good 
hard oak. Nor is the house kept uselessly 
idle. It is the home of the hired man and his 
family; and smoke goes up the great chimney 
Hue, and children ])lay about the door. Only 
a little less ancient than Pilgrim Cottage is a 
house built by ancestors of Mrs. Murdock in 
1729, which, having been put in good order at 
much expense, now constitutes a wing of the 
Murdock mansion. P"or so preserving these 
old landmarks, Mr. Murdock is entitled to 
lasting gratitude. 

Mr. Murdock is an earnest supporter of the 
cause of the higher education of women, and 
gives much of his time to forward the same. 
In politics he is an adherent of the Repub- 
lican party. Both he and his wife are Unita- 
rians in religious faith. Mr. Murdock is 
known in the business world for a man of 



integrity, foresight, and good judgment, and 
is esteemed by the general community for his 
good citizenship, works of improvement, and 
his readiness to befriend the needy. 




HARLES K. KNIGHT, M.I)., a 
po|)ular [)hysician residing in Rock- 
land, Mass., was born in Liver- 
more, Me., April 20, 1854. He is a son of 
William and Rebecca (Soper) Knight, both 
natives of the Pine Tree State. William 
Knight is an enterprising farmer in comfort- 
able circumstances, a dealer in poultry and 
eggs. He has reared two children — Rose 
and Charles E. 

Charles E. Knight was reared on a farm; 
but agriculture had no charms for him, one of 
his earliest ambitions being to qualify himself 
as a physician. He attended Waterville In- 
.stitute and Bates College, read medicine first 
with Dr. Bridgham, who is now in Cohasset, 
Mass., and was graduated from the Medical 
School of Bowdoin College in 1879. With 
an admirable spirit of independence he earned 
a great part of the money needed for his pro- 
fessional training, teaching for eight or ten 
years. He began to i)ractise in his native 
town, then moved to Livermore Falls, and in 
1895 located in Rockland as successor to Dr. 
Bradbury. He has a good grasp of his profes- 
sion, is naturally energetic and progressive, 
and his methods have proved effective in the 
cure of disease. During his short stay in 
Rockland he has won the jniblic confidence, 
and established a growing practice. 

In 1879 ^^- Knight was uniteil in marriage 
with Miss Flora B. Howard, of Harrison, Me.; 
and one child, Chester L., has blessed their 
union. The Doctor is a strong Rejuiblican, 
and has taken an active part in every campaign 
since casting his first vote. He is a Royal 



2 44 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




Arch Mason and a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, and is very prominent 
socially. 

ENJAMIN W. ROBBINS, a suc- 
cessful farmer of Carver, was born 
here, August 12, 1835, son of 
Chandler and Sarah (Burgess) Robbins. He 
is the fourth in line of descent from his 
earliest American progenitor in this locality. 
His great-grandfather left a son bearing the 
name of Joseph, who in turn had a son named 
Chandler. Chandler Robbins, who was born 
and reared in Carver, married Sarah Burgess, 
a native of Plymouth, who became the mother 
of seven children. These were: Chandler, 
who died in 1895; Sarah, also deceased; 
Sarah, second, who is the wife of Charles 
Shaw; John, who was killed at the second 
battle of Bull Run, in which he fought as a 
private in Company E, Eighteenth Regiment 
of Massachusetts Volunteers; Joseph and Ben- 
jamin, who were twins; and Hannah, who 
married Richard W. Wilber, of Bridgewater. 
Joseph, who was also a soldier in the Federal 
army, serving in the same regiment with his 
brother John, received three wounds at the 
second battle of Bull Run., He died in 1892. 
Chandler Robbins's life was for the most part 
spent in Carver, where he was born. He died 
March 27, 1895, aged seventy-one. His wife 
is still living. 

Benjamin W. Robbins, whose circumstances 
in boyhood left him but few advantages, ac- 
quired his education by his own individual 
efforts. Born and reared on a farm, he be- 
came in early life inured to the hardships of 
agricultural life. Yet, appreciating its inde- 
pendence, he followed the precedent of his 
forefathers, and became a farmer. In i860, 
when twenty-five years of age, the estate he 
now owns was intrusted to his charge. It 



contains one hundred and fifty acres of good 
land. For a number of years, besides general 
farming he has been engaged in the culture of 
cranberries, now a staple product in the fall 
and winter markets. In 1862 he wedded Miss 
Lydia M. Hammond, who bore him five chil- 
dren. These were: Annie H., who became 
the wife of Theron M. Cole; John S. ; Lucian 
T. ; Evelyn F. ; and Morris F. Evelyn has 
been a student at the Normal School at North- 
field. In politics Mr. Robbins is a Republi- 
can, and represented his district in the State 
legislature of 1882-83. In the capacity of 
Fire Warden, which office he has held for a 
number of years, he has been very efficient. 
He is an esteemed member of the Congrega- 
tional church of Carver. 




VERETT T. LINCOLN, Deputy Sheriff, 
auctioneer, and dealer in carriages and 
harness, is one of the busy and enter- 
prising citizens of Middleboro, Mass. He 
was born in this town, January 16, 185 i, and 
is the only son of William and Juliet (Sher- 
man) Lincoln. 

The Lincoln family is of English origin. 
Among the early settlers of Hingham, Mass., 
were: Thomas Lincoln, the "cooper,"' who 
came about 1635 or 1636; Samuel Lincoln and 
his brother Thomas, the "weaver," about 
1637; .Sergeant Daniel, 1644-5; Stephen 
Lincoln and his brother Thomas, the "hus- 
bandman," 1638; and Thomas Lincoln, the 
"miller," who came to Massachusetts in 1635, 
settled first in Hingham, and some years 
later removed to Taunton. His three sons — 
Thomas, John, and Samuel — were all resi- 
dents of Taunton. 

Mr. William Lincoln's father, Lewis Lin- 
coln, who was an able mechanic, was a suc- 
cessful self-made man. He came to Middle- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



245 



boro when seventeen years of age, and died 
here at the age of eighty-six. His wife died 
at the age of sixty-two. They had two chil- 
tlrcn — William and one who died in infancy. 
William Lincoln, like his father, had natural 
mechanical ability. When twenty-one years 
of age, he started in the carriage business in 
Middleboro, manufacturing and selling, and 
did not disdain to work at the forge himself, 
fashioning tires and springs. This was in the 
days when carriages were made mostly by 
hand, antl until the advent of factories he had 
a large and lucrative business. Since ma- 
chine work became common, his business has 
been confined to selling carriages. Mr. Will- 
iam Lincoln, being in feeble health, has for 
some time left the management of affairs in 
his son's hands. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Sherman, is a native of Carver, 
Mass. 

Kverett T. Lincoln enjoyed good educa- 
tional opportmiities, taking an advanced 
course of study at Pierce Academy. At the 
age of seventeen he went to work at his 
father's forge, and for a number of years was 
engaged with him in the manufacture of car- 
riages, the name of the firm being L. Lincoln 
& Son. He is an able business man, know- 
ing how to care for the proj^erty accumulated 
by his father and Imw to aiUl to his own re- 
sources by careful investment. He is a mem- 
ber of the Board of Investment of the Middle- 
boro Savings Bank and one of the Trustees of 
that institution. 

Mr. Lincoln married May 7, 1871, Miss 
Lizzie Bartlett, of Plymouth, Mass., daughter 
of Frederick Bartlett. In jiolitics he favors 
the Republican side. His ability and force 
of character are recognized by his townsmen, 
and he has been elected to a number of offices 
of trust and authority. He was Constable 
eight years, and has been Deputy Sheriff two 



years; and he was formerly connected with the 
fire department. He belongs to Mayflower 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; and to Loilge No. 
665, Knights of Honor. Together with his 
parents he is an attendant at the Baptist 
church; and, though he is not a church mem- 
ber, he is interested in the welfare of the so- 
ciety, and ior two years has been Treasurer of 
the Baptist Cemetery Association. 



/STkORGE T. UKFRKFS is a well- 
Vf^T known dry-goods merchant in Hing- 
ham, Mass., dealing also in fancy 
goods and furnishings. He was born in Bos- 
ton, July 25, 1832, son of William and Martha 
(Milner) Defrees. The family is of Knglish 
ancestry. William, the father, came to 
America in early manhood with his brother, a 
sea captain, who assured him that the country 
was a desirable one to live in. William De- 
frees was a baker by trade, and continued his 
business in Boston. The maiden name of his 
wife was Martha Milner. They had eight 
children — William H., Maria, Elizabeth C, 
Martha H., George T., Joseph S., Emily Jane, 
and Charlotte M. But two of the family are 
living to-day: William IL, a resident of 
Southboro, Mass., now at the age of seventy; 
and George T., the subject of this sketch. 
The father died at the age of forty-six years, 
and the mother at fifty. 

George T. Defrees, the fifth chilil of his 
parents, had excellent educational privileges 
in the Boston schools; but at the age of 
fourteen, preferring work to study, he engaged 
to make himself generally useful in Charles 
Cook's paper store. He was subsequently 
employed by the Reniick Brothers, dealers in 
millinery and fancy goods, remaining with 
them for a number of years. Later he worked 
for Kinmouth & Co., dealers in dry goods and 



2 46 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ribbons, and then returned for a time to Remick 
Brothers, becoming familiar with all the de- 
tails of the business. Failing health obliged 
him to quit work when the Civil War broke 
out, but he was anxious to do something for 
his country. He therefore enlisted in the 
Hospital Corps, and was detailed to Colum- 
bian College Hospital, where he had charge of 
the clothing distribution. There he had a 
heart-rending experience of the horrors of war; 
and, being obliged to sleep in a tent, he con- 
tracted neuralgia, from which he suffered for 
seven years. In 1867 he began the dry-goods 
business for himself in Brookline, Mass. ; but, 
ill health compelling him to abandon it, he 
sold out. As soon as he was sufficiently re- 
cuperated, he embarked in a similar enterprise 
in Ouincy, Mass. After a successful busi- 
ness career of eight years in that town he 
came to Hingham, May 12, 1884, where he 
continues the same line of trade, with which 
. he is thoroughly familiar. 

Twenty-nine years ago Mr. Defrees was 
united in marriage with Frances Daggett, 
daughter of Warren and Clara (Gould) Dag- 
gett. Her ancestors came from Maine. Mr. 
and Mrs. Daggett had three other daughters: 
Eliza, deceased; Addie, who resides in Ash- 
mont; and Emma, a resident of Boston. 

Mr. Defrees has uniformly cast his vote for 
the Republican party. Fraternally, he be- 
longs to Tremont Lodge, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, of Boston, in which he has 
for some time officiated as Chaplain. He is 
also identified in the membership of Massasoit 
Encampment, the Merrimont Lodge, No. 617, 
Knights of Honor, and the New England 
Accident Insurance Company. In religion he 
is an Episcopalian. Personally, he is a genial 
gentleman, who is an important social and 
commercial factor in this town. Mr. and 
Mrs. Defrees reside on Hersey Street. 




MOS B. FAUN, M.D., has been for 
early twenty years a resident physi- 
cian of Middleboro, and during his 
term of active professional work has won the 
regard and respect of his townsmen. He was 
born in New Bedford, Mass., October 18, 
1846, a son of John and Sarah (Tripp) Faun. 

Flis father, John Faun, was born in Kings- 
ton, R.I. He was engaged for a number of 
years in manufacturing and refining oil in 
New Bedford, making a specialty of the fine 
oil obtained from the sperm whale. The 
latter part of his life was spent on a farm in 
Lakeville, where he died at the age of seventy- 
seven in 1872. His wife was born in iSoi in 
Fairhaven, Mass., and was a daughter of Cap- 
tain Gilbert Tripp, who was master of a 
vessel, and was also a skilful cooper. Mrs. 
Faun died at the age of eighty-four. She was 
the mother of nine children, namely; Sarah, 
William, and Benjamin, deceased; John H., 
living in Lakeville; Deborah, Charles, David, 
and l^Uen, deceased; and Amos B., whose 
name stands at the head of this sketch. 

Amos B. Faun entered learning's gate 
through the common schools of New Bedford. 
He was eight years old when his parents re- 
moved to Lakeville; and there he worked on 
the farm for a while, subsequently attending 
Grossman Sisters' School and Fierce Academy 
in Middleboro. A little later, after he had 
begun the work of life, he had the misfortune 
to fracture his ankle; and this circumstance, 
curiously enough, led to his adopting the pro- 
fession of medicine. At the time the acci- 
dent happened he had a good position, which 
he filled with such efficiency that it seemed 
likely he would make his mark in the com- 
mercial world ; but, now that he was unable to 
stand, he was obliged to give it up. The care 
of the broken ankle was a subject that caused 
great anxiety. Flis father and the family 



BIOGRArillCAL REVIEW 



247 



pliysician were afraiil tliat, it hones wore taken 
out and other painful processes entered into, 
the patient would die; but the young man was 
not satisfied with such a diagnosis, and began 
to study for himself. The trouble subse- 
quently yielded to projier surgical treatment. 
l<"olli)wing his first investigations in the realm 
of anatomical and medical science, he read 
with Dr. Charles II. Thomas for four years, 
and in 1865 entered the University of Penn- 
sylvania, where he was graduated ciitn laitiic in 
1869. lie was an enthusiastic student, and 
had the best of special instruction. In Sep- 
tember, 1869, he opened an ofifice in East 
Taunton, Mass., where he remained two years; 
and after that he was in North Middleboro 
four years. In 1877 he removed to Middle- 
boro, and for some time his home and office 
have been at 108 Oak Street, lie is a skilful 
and successful physician and surgeon, and has 
a large practice. 

Dr. I'aun married Miss Deborah A. Thomp- 
son, a native of Thompson's Mills, 111., 
daughter of Isaac and Anna (Thompson) 
Thompson, and has one son, lulgar Amos, 
born February 24, 1882. Mrs. Paun is a de- 
scendant of John Thomson, or Thompson, who 
came to Plymouth in 1635, it is said, and who 
married Mary Cook, daughter of Francis 
Cook, one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. 

In politics Dr. Paun favors the Republican 
siele, and while residing in East Taunton he 
took a lively interest in local matters; but 
his jjrofessional work now demands all his 
attention. A genial and hospitable gentle- 
man, he is very popular in society, and is a 
prominent member of several fraternal organi- 
zations. He is a Mason ; is Past Chief Patri- 
arch of Colfax I'^ncampment, Indepentlent 
Order of Odtl F'ellows; belongs to .Sippican 
Tribe, Im])roved t)rder of Red Men, of New 
Hedford ; to New Bedford Lodge, No. "Ji, 



Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; 
and to the Commercial Club of Middleboro. 
Mrs. Paun is a member of the Ba|)tist church, 
and an active worker in the Women's Chris- 
tian Temperance Union. 



.\COB OSBORN SANBORN, the effi- 
cient principal of the llingham High 
School, was born in Loudon Centre, 
N.Ii., on July 6, 1840, son of Daniel L. and 
Alia S. (Moore) Sanborn. His great-grand- 
father, Captain John .Sanborn, a native of 
Kingston, N.II., was a farmer, and one of the 
early settlers in Loudon, N.H., where he 
owned and cleared many acres of land. He 
served in the old State militia. He was 
appointed on September 5, 1775, First Lieu- 
tenant of the Tenth Company, Thirteenth 
Regiment of militia in the colony of New 
Hampshire; and his commission is in the 
possession of his grandson, the subject of this 
sketch. He subquently became Captain. He 
married Ruth Rand, and they had five chil- 
dren who grew to maturity. Captain Sanborn 
and his wife lived to a good old age. 

lulmund, their youngest child, was a farmer 
and miller in his native town of Loudon, 
N. IP, for many years. In politics he was a 
Democrat and officially prominent, serving 
the town as its Representative to the legisla- 
ture. In religion he was a Free Will Bajitist. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth 
Griffin, was a native of Loudon. The\ had 
nine children, five of whom are now living. 
Mrs. Ruth G. Sanborn lived to be over eighty, 
while her husband attaineil the advanced age 
of ninety-three. 

Daniel L., the third child of F'dmunil anil 
Ruth (Griffin) Sanborn, was born in Loudon, 
N. IL, where he was engaged in farming all 
his life. In politics he was a Republican; 



2 48 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and he served as Constable for many years, 
being also Captain of the State militia. He 
married Ada S. Moore, and they were the 
parents of six children, namely: Jacob O. ; 
Ruth J., deceased; Joseph T., now residing 
on the old homestead, and whose wife, Fannie 
Cleverly, died without children; Charles F., 
a resident of Loudon, N.H. ; Mary E. Bus- 
well, wife of John L. Buswell, of Loudon, 
N.H., and mother of two children — Abbie E. 
and Frank W. ; and Ada Estelle Sanborn, 
who died young. The father and mother at- 
tended the Free Will Baptist church. They 
lived to the age of fifty-six and sixty-five re- 
spectively. 

Jacob O. Sanborn, after acquiring his early 
education in Loudon, N.H., fitted for college 
at New Hampton, and was graduated at Dart- 
mouth College in the class of 1864. The 
year following he took charge of the South 
Hingham Grammar School, remaining until 
the spring of 1866, when he accepted the man- 
agement of the Cradock Grammar School in 
Medford, Mass., which position he continued 
to fill until the fall of 1868. From that time 
until 1872 he had charge of the Winchester 
Grammar School. Mr. Sanborn then accepted 
the principalship of the Hingham High 
School, which he has ably filled for twenty- 
four years. In polities he afifiliates with the 
Republican party. He is President of the 
Board of Trustees of the Hingham Public 
Library. 

On October 30, 1869, Mr. Sanborn was 
united in marriage with Louise Attelia 
Slader, daughter of Edward and Almira A. 
(Hunton) Slader, being the only child now 
living. Mr. Sanborn is highly esteemed as a 
citizen and a teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Sanborn 
are both members of the Congregational 
church at Hingham, in which he has officiated 
as Deacon for the past ten years. 




ON. GEORGE M. HOOPER, of 
Bridgewater, Mass., manufacturer of 
building brick, is one of the well- 
known public men of tliis vicinity, having 
■held various town officers and served two 
terms in the State legislature. He was born 
in Bridgewater, September i, 1838, and is a 
son of the late Mitchell and Jane (Mitchell) 
Hooper. 

His first ancestor in this country came from 
England in 1635, ^^^'l settled in what is now 
Wakefield, Mass. From the immigrant's 
youngest son, John Hooper, who located in 
Bridgewater in 1700, George M. Hooper is 
a direct descendant, in the sixth generation. 
The family has produced soldiers as well as 
financiers and statesmen, Hezekiah Hooper, 
Mr. Hooper's great-grandfather, having fought 
in the Revolutionary War, and Joseph Hooper, 
his uncle, in the War of 181 2. 

Mitchell Hooper was born in Bridgewater. 
An active Republican, he represented this 
district in the State legislature in 1861. He 
died October 15, 1886. His wife was born in 
Enfield, Mass. She, too, was of Revolution- 
ary stock, being a grand-daughter of Thomas 
Mitchell, who was a soldier in the Continental 
army under Washington. Mrs. Hooper died 
in 1891. Of the children born to this couple, 
three are living: George M., the subject of 
the present outline sketch; Lucia H., wife of 
Henry T. Pratt, of Bridgewater; and PLliza- 
beth L., widow of Frederick A. Barker, now 
residing in Cambridge, Mass. 

George M. Hooper attended the Bridgewater 
Academy and Pierce Academy at Middleboro, 
and was graduated from the State Normal 
School in this town in 1S57. After teaching 
school for a year, he engaged in the manufact- 
ure of building brick, and has followed it up 
to the present time. For a number of years 
he has served as clerk and Trustee of the 




GEORGE M. HCOPER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



2S« 



Hridgcwatcr Savings Rank; ami lie has been 
Troasurcr and is now Secretary of the I'lym- 
outh County Agricultural Society. 

Mr. Hooper lias been twice marrieil. Mis 
first wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. 
Josselvn, was the mother of eight children, 
six of whom are living, namely: Jane M., wife 
of I'^mery K Kent, of Salem, Mass. ; Louise, 
wife of ,'\rtlnir I). Ferguson, of Allston, 
Mass.; George M. and I'"rederick \V. , of 
Hridgewatcr; Mary h"., a graduate of the 
Bridgewater Normal School, who is teaching 
in a jjrivatc school in Klizabeth, N.J.; and 
Mitchell, residing with his father. The 
present Mrs. Hooper was before marriage Miss 
Catherine Mitchell, of Bridgewater. 

Mr. Hooper is a strong Republican in poli- 
tics. He represented Bridgewater and T'^ast 
and West Bridgewater in the State legislature 
ill iSScS and 1890; and for several \'ears he 
has been a member of the town School Com- 
mittee, presiding for three years as Chairman 
of the Board. A prominent Mason, he be- 
longs to Fellowship Lodge, A. I^^. & A. M., 
of Bridgewater, of which he is a Past Master; 
Harmony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of the 
same place, of which he is a Past High Priest; 
and Bay State Commandery, Knights Tem- 
plars, of Brockton. He is connected with the 
New Jerusalem church (Swedenborgian). 
Mr. Hooper and his family are esteemed mem- 
bers of the community in which they dwell, 
jirominent in all the important social events 
in Bridgewater. 



t^l I'.NKY 1). .M.LI'.N, who has been 
f^\ identified with the agricultural iii- 
Ji® V _ terests of Plymouth County through- 
out his active life, was born March 9, 1824, 
in Marion, on the farm where his father, 
Reuben Allen, was born, lived, and died. 



His great-grandfather, John Allen, settled 
here in Colonial days. Weston Allen, the 
paternal grandfather, purchasetl and improved 
the Allen homestead, and here reared his chil- 
dren to those habits of industry and economy 
that afterward made them good and valued 
citizens. 

Reuben Allen succeeded to the ownership 
of the ancestral acres, and was chiefly engaged 
in agricultural [nirsuits. He married I'htebe 
B. Blankenship, who bore him seven children; 
namely, Polly 11., Matilda L., Sallie S., 
Henry D., George V., Charles Weston, and 
Lorenzo T. Charles Weston died at the age 
of five years. 

Henry D. Allen was bred and educated in 
his native town. He attended the public 
schools during his boyhood, and on the home 
farm received a practical training in agricult- 
ure. He resided on the old homestead prop- 
erty until 1894, when he removed to his 
present snug farm, where he is engaged in 
general agriculture on a small scale. Mr. 
Allen has always taken an active and intelli- 
gent interest in all matters pertaining to the 
town and county, and has ably served the town 
in its most important offices. For eight years 
he was Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of 
the Poor, a member of the School Committee 
for three years, and Highway Surveyor for a 
number of terms. Politically, he is a stanch 
adherent of the Republican party. While a 
member of no religious organization, he is in 
sympathy with the work of all the churches. 

On June 10, 1847, Mr. Allen married Miss 
Eliza W. Delano, a daughter of Benjamin and 
Thankful (Delano) Delano. His wife has 
had four children, as follows: Charles 11., 
who died .March 13, 1850; Mary O., whose 
death occurred November 2, 1863; Annie D., 
the only surviving child; and Henry T., who 
passed away November 7, 188S. 



25 = 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




iHARLES HAWKES MARBLE, an 

enterprising member of the vvell- 
i<nown firm of Rich & Marble, 
plumbers and hardware merchants of Hing- 
ham, Mass., was born in Hingham Centre on 
July II, 1858. He is the youngest son of 
Demerick and Deborah H. (Groce) Marble, 
and is of the seventh generation in descent 
from Gershom Marble, the original progenitor 
of the family in Hingham and vicinity. 

He was a mariner in early manhood, and 
a resident of Charlestown, Mass. He was 
twice married. His first wife, Mary, died in 
Charlestown on December 30, 1694, when she 
was a young woman; and he subsequently 
removed to Hingham, where he resided on 
Beechwood Street. In Scituate, Mass., in 
1697 he was married to Waitstill Ingle, who 
died in Hingham, November 14,. 1.728. Ger- 
shom Marble died August 6, 1725, at the age 
of sixty. 

David, fourth child of Gershom and Wait- 
still (Ingle) Marble, was born about the year 
1706. On December 27, 1732, he married 
Abigail Joy, who was born in Hingham, 
March 22, 1713, daughter of Prince and Abi- 
gail (Tower) Joy. Four children were the 
fruit of this union. Luther, the second child, 
was born in 1735. He married Priscilla 
James, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Hol- 
brook) James. She was baptized May 10, 
1 74 1. Luther Marble was a mariner, and met 
the fate of many that do business in great 
waters, being lost at sea. His eldest child, 
who bore the name of James, was born in 
Hingham, November 3, 1760, and was married 
June 7, 1785, to Fanny Stodder. Her parents 
were Reuben and Elizabeth (Glover) Stodder. 
She was born in Hingham, June 10, 1766; 
and after her marriage to Mr. Marble they 
resided on South Street. James Marble also 
was a seafaring man. He died on April 26, 



1 80 1, at the age of forty. By his matrimonial 
alliance there were seven children. His 
widow was married on April 24, 1802, to 
Reuben Thurston, who lived but a few years 
after; and on June 12, 1808, she married her 
third husband, John Braslin. She passed 
away August 3, 1833. 

Demerick, third son of James and Fanny 
(Stodder) Marble, was born in Hingham, July 
18, 1794. On December 7, 1818, he was 
married to Olive Easterbrook, daughter of 
Gorham and Susanna (Gorham) Easterbrook. 
She was born in Barnstable, Mass., October 
28, 179S, and died on December 24, 1868. 
Demerick Marble was lost at sea March 30, 
1823, while in command of the schooner 
"Globe." He was the paternal grandfather of 
the subject of this biography. 

His son, Demerick Marble, Jr., was born in 
Hingham, October 7, 18 19. After availing 
himself of the educational opportunities 
afforded by the common schools of that time, 
at the age of fourteen and a half years he 
went to Boston to learn the painter's trade. 
A year later, however, he returned to Hing- 
ham, and worked at the carriage-maker's trade. 
In 1849 he formed a partnership with Bela H. 
Whiton, which lasted for forty-two consecu- 
tive years, when Mr. Marble retired from the 
arena of business, having been engaged in all 
fifty-si.'c years in the carriage-making industry. 

In politics he formerly affiliated with the 
Free Soil party; but since the formation of 
the Republican party he has been identified 
with the latter organization, invariably casting 
his vote for Republican candidates. An active 
and public-spirited citizen, Mr. Demerick 
Marble has served efficiently in various town 
and State offices. F"or many years he was on 
the School Committee, for nine years he was a 
Selectman, and he is at present Town Auditor. 
In 1859 and i860 he was Representative to 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



253 



the State legislature. Since 1877 he has 
been .Trustee of the llingham Institution for 
Savings, and since 1871 a Director of Hing- 
liani Mutual I'ire Insurance Company. 

I-'ratcrnally, Mr. Marble is identified with 
Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., having 
taken the third degree in March, 1859; and 
for over half a century he has also been a 
member of Old Colony Lodge, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. Reared by a Baptist 
miithcr, he was thoroughly indoctrinated in 
that religious faith. He subsequently be- 
came a Universalist, and is ever ready and 
willing to state intelligently the reason for 
his belief. Me is a man of strong convic- 
tions, but is not opinionated. He is an 
attendant of the old Unitarian church in 
Hingham. Mr. Marble has accumulated a 
good property, and stands high socially. 

Mr. Demerick Marble and Deborah II 
Groce, who was born in Hingham on June 25, 
1823, daughter of Jacob and Olive F. (Burr) 
Groce, were married on July 31, 1842. They 
became the parents of four sons. William 
Demerick, the eldest, who was born in Wey- 
mouth, Mass., March 15, 1845, died in Hing- 
ham on May S, 1850. The seconil, Thomas 
Burr, born in Hingham, November 2, 1848, 
died October 30, 185 1. Arthur Demerick, 
the third son, now city engineer of Lawrence, 
Mass., was born in Hingham, A])ril 10, 1853. 
lie is a natural artist, and is also the family 
historian, having compileii a number of inter- 
esting biographical sketches. He married 
Mary A. Richardson, and has one daughter, 
Marion Wright Marble. 

Charles Hawkcs Marble, the youngest child 
of Demerick and Deborah H. (Groce) Marble, 
was born in Hingham on July it, 1858. He 
attended the public schools, and was subse- 
quently graduateil at the Hingham High 
School, standing well in scholarship. For a 



time he officiated as Assistant Postmaster at 
Hingham Centre, and was assistant to the Li- 
brarian of the Hingham I'ubiic Library. He 
then entered the employ of I. W. Loring, to 
gain an insight into the mysteries of plumbing 
and tinsmithing, remaining with him eighteen 
months. He afterward returned to the post- 
office for another period of service. In 1879 
his present partnership with Atkins S. Rich 
was formed, the enterprise having been estab- 
lished by Mr. Rich five years previously. Mr. 
Marble's business tact and popularity make 
him an important factor of the concern. They 
employ from si.\ to eight men, their work cov- 
ering an extensive territory. In 1880 they 
bought a new business plant to better meet the 
demands of their steadil)' increasing trade. 

In ijolitics Mr. Marble affiliates with the 
Republican party. For five years he officiated 
on the Board of Registration for voters, then 
resigning to become a member of the Board of 
Health, of which he is Chairman. He is a 
Director of Hingham Co-operative Bank, and 
for the past three years he has served as Presi- 
dent of the Hingham Centre Croquet Club. 

On July 17, 1884, Mr. Charles H. Marble 
was married to Estella L., daughter of Reuben 
and Sarah J. (Dyer) Sprague, of Hingham 
Centre, and a descendant of William Sprague, 
who settled in Hingham about 1636. I\Ir. 
Marble is very prominent in Masonic circles, 
being Past Master of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. 
& A. M. While he was master in 1S92 the 
lodge celebrated its one hundredth anniver- 
sary, the success of which was 'largely due to 
his efforts. A book, entitled "One Hundred 
Years of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M.," 
contains an interesting account of this occa- 
sion, and also a fine portrait of Mr. Marble. 
It is the testimony of brother Masons that 
Worshipful Master Marble's work, both in the 
lodge room and on public occasions, was 



2^4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



masonically perfect and very impressive. In 
religion he is a Universalist in belief, but 
with his wife afifiliates with the First Parish 
Unitarian Church, of which he is Treasurer. 



fRANKLIN E. NESMITH, manufact- 
urer of paper boxes, is one of the suc- 
cessful young business men of Rock- 
land, Mass. He was born in Tewksbury, 
Middlesex County, Mass., November g, 1861. 
His parents were Thomas and Frances A. 
(Crane) Nesmith, the former a native of New 
Hampshire, the latter of Connecticut. 
Thomas Nesmith was engaged in farming for 
a number of years, and lived in Tewksbury 
and in Lowell. He died in August, 1895, 
aged seventy-four. He had three children, 
namely: Franklin E., the subject of this 
sketch; Henry I., in Lynn, treasurer of the 
Lynn Box Company; and Elizabeth F., wife of 
Amasa Harrington, of Waltham, Mass. 

Franklin E. Nesmith passed his youth in his 
native town and in the city of Lowell, acquir- 
ing a good practical education. As soon as 
his studies were finished, he went to work in a 
box factory in Lowell, and in course of time 
learned all the details involved in the manu- 
facture of paper boxes. He then took charge 
of the business which is now under his control 
in Rockland, and his factory on Grove Street 
is the centre of a large trade. He manufact- 
ures principally boxes for shoes, and during 
the twelve years that he has been in business 
lias supplied a large demand, keeping a num- 
ber of hands employed, and weathering suc- 
cessfully financial crises like the one which is 
at present vexing the public. 

In 1887 Mr. Nesmith was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Hattie F. Lawrence, of Rock- 
land. He has a pleasant home at 18 Union 
Street. In political preference he is a Re- 



publican. He is a Mason, belonging to John 
Cutter Lodge of Abington; Pilgrim Royal 
Arch Chapter; and Old Colony Commandery, 
Knights Templars, of Abington; and, as an 
Odd Fellow, he is a member of Standish 
Lodge, No. 177, of Rockland. He is very 
jiopular as a member of society, and as a busi- 
ness man has displayed much ability. 



/STeORGE a. BEAL, of Abington, 
V f^ I Treasurer of the Savings Bank, was 
Town Treasurer twenty-five years in 
succession, and has been identified with the 
welfare of the place for a much longer period. 
He was born in Abington, December 21, 1830. 
His parents, Benjamin and Dorothy B. (Nash) 
Beal, were natives and lifelong residents of 
this town. 

His mother died in 1837, at the early age 
of thirty-three; and his father, who was by 
occupation a boot and shoemaker, died in 
1888, at the age of eighty-eight years. 

George A. Beal was given good educational 
opportunities, completing his studies at a pri- 
vate academy iii his native town. He em- 
barked in the boot and shoe business in 1857, 
and was prosperously engaged in this manu- 
facturing industry for nearly thirty years. In 
company with Joshua L. Nash, under the firm 
name of Nash & Beal, he carried it on by the 
steam factory system, the firm being one of the 
first to use steam power in this section of the 
State. From 1872 to 1883 Mr. Beal was a 
member of the Board of Investment of the 
Savings Bank, and in 1884 he retired from the 
shoe business to enter upon his duties as 
Treasurer of the bank. Since July of that 
year he has filled this responsible position, 
giving entire satisfaction to all concerned, and 
establishing a firm hold upon the confidence 
of the community. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4SS 



Mr. Beal married three sisters, members of 
an old and prominent family of Plymouth 
County, which originally settled in Wey- 
nioutli. In 1.S52 he was united to Helen M. 
Reed, who died January 30, 1861, leaving one 
son, Herbert A. In 1864 he was married to 
Lucretia A. Reed, by wiiom he had two chil- 
dren — George C. and Charles A. She died 
February 2, 18S5. In 1886 he married Flor- 
ence L. Reed, who has no children. Mr. 
Heal was Selectman and Town Clerk of Ab- 
ington for ten years, and, as stated above, 
Town Treasurer twenty-five years ; and he is 
also Treasurer of the 0]d Colony Command- 
cry, Knights Templars. He is a regular at- 
tendant of the Congregational church. 




"OVKNDON L. HOWARD, a retired 
farmer of Brockton, was born in 
Bridgewater, March 15, 1821, son 
of Sidney and Sally (Littlefield) Howard. 
His i)aternal grandfather was Daniel Howard, 
Jr., a Justice of the Peace. He had ten chil- 
dren, of whom Sidney, born in 1790, was the 
eighth. Sidney Howard was engaged in shoe- 
making for some years, and also owned and 
worked a small farm. A Republican in poli- 
tics, he served as Constable for a number of 
years. His wife was a daughter of Major 
-Samuel Littlefield, of East Stoughton. She 
became the mother of four children: Hoven- 
don, the subject of this biography; John S. ; 
Nathan Capcn ; and Vesta. John S. has 
]iassed away; Nathan Capen resides at Cam- 
pello; and Vesta married I-". \V. Hatch, of 
Marshfield. The father died at the age of 
sixty-three years, the mother surviving until 
her seventy-seventh year. 

Hovendon I,. Howard was educated in the 
common schools of his native town. At the 
age of twelve he began to learn shoemaking. 



which trade he subsequently followed for 
twenty-two years. He then turned his atten- 
tion to farming, which occupation he pursued 
until his retirement from active labor. He 
owns one hundred acres of land, which is at 
present under the management of his son, J. 
Capen Howard. In September, 1846, he mar- 
ried Emily J., daughter of Sumner French, of 
Turner, Me. By her he has had six children, 
four of whom are now living — Sidney, 
Charles A., J. Capen, and Ellis C. The two 
deceased are: Sumner F., who died in 1865; 
and Clinton F., who died July S, 1896. 
Three of the children reside in this city. In 
politics Mr. Howard is a Republican. 




ALTER F. CLEAVELAND, a well- 
known city official of Brockton, was 
born at Franklin, Mass., February 
I", 1830, son of Albert and Susan (Daniels) 
Cleaveland. Bela Cleveland, the father of 
Albert, was born at Medfield, Mass., and died 
on May 20, 1832. He married Hannah 
Adams, of Medfield, and they had a family of 
eight children, four boys and four girls, of 
whom but one is living. Albert Cleaveland, 
the eldest child, went to California in 1849, 
where he spent the remainder of his life, and 
died when about seventy-six years of age. 
Susan (Daniels) Cleaveland, his wife, was 
born in Franklin, Mass., October 6, 1808, and 
was a descendant of one of the early New Eng- 
land families. She died February 6, 1834. 
They were the parents of two children — Wal- 
ter F. and a boy that died in infancy. 

Left motherless when but four years old, 
Walter V. Cleaveland, within a year after, 
went to live with his paternal grandmother. 
At the age of ten he accompanied his father to 
Woonsocket Falls, and later to Pro\idence, 
R. I., attending the common schools in the dif- 



25b 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



fercnt places in which he lived. He then 
learned the sash and blind business, at which 
he worked in Providence for about four years, 
with his uncle at East Freetown until 1856, 
and in New Bedford until September, 1859. 
Removing from there to North Bridgewater, 
now Brockton, he followed his trade for about 
two years more, and then went into the ice, 
wooti, and teaming business, as a member of 
the firm, Daniel Eames & Co. At the end of 
three years he purchased his partner's interest, 
and carried on the business alone until the 
spring of 1883, when he sold out to Wallace 
C. Flagg. He next built a shop, and for four 
years did wood sawing. 

In 1 85 1 Mr. Cleaveland married Marietta 
H. Whipple, daughter of Amos and Rosella 
Whipple, of Cumberland, Mass. She died 
some years later, and Mr. Cleaveland then 
married Mary E. Chipman, of Sandwich, 
Mass., who died October 21, 1884. There 
were six children by his first union, namely: 
Susan L., who died when two years of age; 
Albert A., who married Eva Cook, of Brock- 
ton, resides in Brockton, and is employed in 
tlie shoe shop; I" ranees R., who married 
Charles A. Braley, of Brockton; Lillian G. , 
who died at the age of five years; Henry W. , 
who married Helen I^ansom, and works in the 
Brockton shoe shop; and Carrie A., who lives 
with her father. In 1879 Mr. Cleaveland, 
who was a member of the Board of Selectmen, 
became a member of the Building Committee. 
He served on the Board of City Water Com- 
missioners until 1893, being for a number of 
years Superintendent of Works. He is now a 
member of the Board of Sewerage Commission- 
ers, and he has been Superintendent of Sewers 
since 1893. With one exception, he has al- 
ways voted the Republican ticket, and is a firm 
believer in the importance of maintaining the 
present monetary standard of the country. 




TIS WINSLOW SOULE, of Abing- 
ton, clerk of the District Court, and 
President of the Savings Bank, was 
born in Middleboro, Mass., January 25, 1828. 
He is a son of the late Otis and Irene (Cush- 
man) Soule. Otis Soule was born February 
•3' 1799. and died August 13, 1871. He was 
a tanner and currier at Middleboro, Mass. 
Four children were born to him and his wife, 
and three are living at the present time, as 
follows: Otis Winslovv, Augustus H., and 
Carrie Elizabeth, all residing in Middle- 
boro, Augustus H. being married to Amanda 
Sears, of Halifax, Mass. Mrs. Irene Cush- 
man Soule, who died December 24, 1881, was 
a daughter of Jacob and Sylvia (Sampson) 
Cushman; and her mother was a sister of 
Deborah Sampson, who served in the Revolu- 
tionary War. Deborah and Sylvia Sampson 
were daughters of Jonathan ant! Deborah 
(Bradford) Sampson, and great-great-grand- 
daughters of Governor William Bradford. 

Otis Winslow Soule acquired his education 
in the public schools of Middleboro. He 
first worked for his father in the tannery in 
that town, and in 1844 obtained employment 
in a shoe shop in Abington. While earning 
a livelihood by manual labor he displayed 
ability as a financier and a public servant, and 
increasing responsibilities were thrust upon 
him by his townsmen. For a number of years 
he was Trustee of the Abington Savings 
Bank; in 1884 he was elected a member of 
the Board of Investment; and he has been 
President since 1892. In 1861 and 1862 he 
represented the district in the legislature. 
In 1868 he was appointed Trial Justice, and 
was in office till 1874, when the District Court 
was established, and he was appointed clerk. 
As clerk of the court for nearly a quarter of 
a century he is well known to the public, and 
has many friends, among the legal fraternity 




OTIS W. SOULE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



259 



especially. Mr. Soule was chosen a member 
of the School Committee in 1884, and served 
four years. In every office to which he has 
been elected he has performed his duties ably 
and conscientiously. 

He was married h'cljruary 21, 1847, to Mary 
Hrown, of Abington, a descendant of the 
Rev. Samuel l^rowii, the first minister in the 
town, and lias two chililren: Abbie Frances, 
wife of Frank K. (loddard ; and Carrie Hrown, 
wife of Herbert !•". I'Mlis, iioth living in Ab- 
ington. Mr. Soule has three grandchildren, 
as follows: Frederick Edwards, Mary Fliza- 
beth Brown, and William Otis, all children 
of Abbie I-'rances and I'rank E. Goddard. 
Mr. Soule is prominent in Masonic circles, 
belonging to John Cutler Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M. ; Pilgrim Chapter of the Royal 
Arch; and Old Colony Commandery, Knights 
Tcm]ilars. He attends the Congregational 
church. In politics he is a stanch Republican. 



/27kC)RGE C. car Y, a former resident 
V f5 1 and native of Brockton, who was 
prominentlv identified with the busi- 
ness and religious interests of the city, was 
born on Cary Hill, April 5, 1831. He was 
educated in the common schools and at the 
Adelphian Academy. He served as workman 
and foreman in various branches of the shoe 
industry, and as a manufacturer until he be- 
came the manager of a inisiness plant of his 
own. He was a shoe crimper for about five 
years, working for himself until a few months 
l^rcvious to his death. He then became a col- 
lector. In November, 1852, he joined the 
I'orter Congregational Church, and subse- 
quently took an active interest in all its 
various lines of Christian endeavor. In 1869 
he was elected Deacon, and for about twenty- 
two years officiated as Clerk and Treasurer, 



rendering also efficient service to the Young 
Men's Christian Association. He had been 
superintendent of the Sunday-school, in which 
he taught until the Sunday before his death. 
He was esteemed as the motive power of the 
church machinery among the laymen, and he 
was a member of the Congregational Club. 
In politics he belonged to the Republican 
party. 

On August 2, 1855, Mr. Cary was united in 
marriage with Harriet G. I'"ord, a daughter of 
Daniel Ford, who was engaged in the shoe in- 
dustry in this city. By her he had one child, 
Henry Martin, who was born in January, 1857, 
and died at the age of eight years. Deacon 
Cary died of heart disease on September 12, 
1896, his last words to Mrs. Cary being a sug- 
gestion to get the notices for the Sunday ser- 
vices to Deacon Wade in time for proper 
attention. A fine epitome of his life was 
given by the Rev. R. L. Rae, in the te.\t 
chosen for his funeral sermon, from 2 Chron. 
xxxi. 21, "And in every 'work that he began in 
the service of the house of God, ... he did it 
with all his heart, and prospered." His funeral 
was largely attended, and bore evidence of the 
respect in which he was held by men of all 
classes. Mrs. Cary, who united with the 
Porter Congregational Church in November, 
1852, is a lady of prominence in church work, 
and is greatly beloved by her class of Chinese 
pupils, and by all who know her unselfish 
nature and practical Christian spirit. 



/^TeORGE L. soule is one of the 
V ^5 1 prominent business men and well- 
known citizens of Middleboro, Plym- 
outh County, Mass., where he was born on 
March 25, 1832. His parents, George and 
Mary (Harlow) Soule, both of early Colonial 
stock, were also natives of this town. 



26o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



His father, the elder George Soule, estab- 
lished himself here as a furniture dealer and 
funeral director, and successfully carried on 
the business for a number of years, attending 
to the larger patronage incident to the growth 
of the town. He died at the age of sixty- 
seven. Mrs. Mary Harlow Soule is living in 
Middleboro, and, though eighty-six years of 
age, is active and in good health, appearing 
much younger than she really is. Three chil- 
dren were born to her and her husband, 
namely: George I-., the subject of this sketch; 
Charles W., residing in Middleboro; and one 
who died in infancy. 

George L. Soule acquired a good education, 
attending the common schools of his native 
town and Pierce Academy. He has a natural 
talent for music, and for some time was en- 
gaged successfully as a dealer in musical in- 
struments and teaching music. He also 
helped his father somewhat; and after his 
father's death he, in company with his brother, 
assumeil the management of the business, so 
that he is now manager of one of the most lu- 
crative enterprises in the town. Mr. Soule is 
gifted with the faculty that wins financial suc- 
cess, and he also knows how to win and keep 
friends — -an important item in business as 
well as in social life. 

He was married to Miss Anna S. Cathcart, 
of Nantucket, in 1855, and they became the 
parents of the following children: Mary 
Susan, now wife of Abbott Jones, of Plym- 
outh; Annie L. ; William L., who is asso- 
ciated in business with his father; and Mabel, 
who died in infancy. Mrs. Anna S. C. Soule 
died in 1867; and in August, 1871, Mr. Soule 
was again married to Miss Amanda Earl Bart- 
lett, of Middleboro. Three children — Ida 
Lamb, George, and Charles Howard Soule — 
have been born of this union. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Soule repre- 



sented the town in the State legislature in 
1892 and 1894. He has been a member of 
the Prudential Committee of the Middleboro 
Fire Department since its organization. In 
several of the leading fraternal organizations 
he takes an active interest, being a member of 
the Masonic order, the Sons of Temperance, 
and the Middleboro Grange. In religious 
belief he is a Congregationalist. 



T^HARLES S. PIERCE, of Brockton, 
I jp is a good example of our self-made 
^s^_^-' men. A son of Charles S. and 
Elizabeth (Copeland) Pierce, he was born in 
North Bridgewater, this county, November 29, 
1852. Charles S. Pierce, Sr., was born in 
Fall River, Mass. A cabinet-maker by trade, 
he worked for Howard & Clark, furniture man- 
ufacturers of Brockton some thirty years, and 
was one of their most reliable and trusted em- 
ployees. He was a member of the Central 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and he died in 
1866, at the age of forty-seven. His wife is 
a daughter of Ward and Martha Copeland. 
Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
War. Widow Pierce, now seventy-two years 
of age, is living in Brockton. She had four 
children, namely: Abbie C, now deceased, 
who was the wife of Stanford W. Vincent; 
George R., of the firm of Pierce & Packanl, of 
Campello; Susan M., the widow of Walter O. 
Packard, late of Brockton; and Charles S. , the 
subject of this sketch. 

Charles S. Pierce attended the common 
schools of Brockton until he was fourteen 
years old. He then decided that he was old 
enough to work, and, taking matters into his 
own hands, obtained employment in the shoe 
factory of Peleg S. Leach, were he had been 
working for a month before his father discov- 
ered that he had left school. Judging it best 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



!6l 



not to ititcifcrc then, the father left him to 
follow his own inclination. For a year or 
more ho remained in that factory, receiving 
four dollars a week. After that ho earned 
fairly good wages, his fatiior allowing him to 
keep all over five dollars a week. I'or ten 
years ho worked for wages, employed in the 
slu)o factory when business was good, and as 
clerk at other times in the stores of the Hon. 
J. J. Whipple, and other merchants. In 1872 
he borrowed one hundred dollars, and started 
in business, in company with Mnos S. Maloon, 
"bossing " vamps. The firm, which at first was 
Maloon & Pierce, became Maloon, Pierce & 
Morey in iSSi, and tiie manufacture of shoes 
was adiled to their business, thougii kept apart 
from the vam]Mng business. At the death of 
Mr. Maloon in 1884, W. S. Morey purchased 
his interest, the style being changed to W. S. 
Morey & Co. In 1888 Mr. Pierce, having 
other business to occupy his attention, pur- 
chased the interest of Mr. Morey, and discon- 
tinued the manufacture of shoos. Since then 
he has been without an associate. Mr. Pierce 
was the first to "crimp" congress .shoes, a 
method of adjusting the shoe to the shape of 
the last. The machine he used was his own 
invention, called the J. C. Locket Crimping 
Machine. He has recently patented a canvas 
bo.\-toe, which is said to be practically inde- 
structible. This is manufactured by the 
Carver Cotton Gin Company of Boston, a firm 
formed in 1 8go, and of which Mr. Pierce is 
the President. In 1895 he erected on Mon- 
tello Street the large business block that 
bears his name. It is a handsome structure, 
with a street frontage of one hundred feet, 
and an area extending back to the railroad, 
which is connected with the building by a 
private track. Mr. Pierce also owns a val- 
uable piece of land on Montello Street. It 
has five hundred feet frontage, and runs back 



one hundred and fifty feet to the railroad and 
Crescent Street. 

Mr. Pierce was married June 18, 1889, to 
Annie 1.. Higelow, a daughter of Charles and 
Hannah H. Bigelow, of Mill is, Mass., and 
now has one child, Marion B. Mr. Pierce is 
a member of tlie Commercial Chili, an associa- 
tion of business men of Brockton; and f)f I'aul 
Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. A Congrega- 
tionalist in religious belief, he attends the 
Porter Churcli. 




LHI:RT M. \1L1:.S, for a number of 
years a well-known shoe manufacturer 
of Brockton, was born in Randolph, 
Mass., April 14, 1846, son of Captain Isaac 
and Maria Niles. His father was a shoe man- 
ufacturer in Randolph. His brother. Captain 
Horace Niles, who commanded Company K, 
Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, 
was wounded at Antietam, and died from the 
effects thereof at Spring Hill Hospital on 
September 27, 1862. 

Albert M. Niles acquired his education in 
the common schools of his native town and 
the Stetson High School, and for several years 
thereafter he was employed in his father's 
shoe shop in Randolph. Later ho came to 
Brockton, and entered Charles F. Porter's 
shop, where, with the exception of a short 
time, he worked continuously until he wont 
into business for him.self. In 1873 he formed 
a partnership with Hamilton Gould, under the 
style of Hamilton Gould & Co., which lasted 
two years, Mr. Niles then buying out his jiart- 
ner. The business was managed alone by him 
for two years, when De.xter E. Wilber was 
admitted to partnership, the firm name chang- 
ing to A. M. Niles & Co. ICight years later 
Mr. Nilos gave up business for two years on 
account of poor health. At the expiration of 



262 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



that time a corporation was formed, under the 
firm name A. Ml Niles Shoe Company, Mr. 
Wilber again becoming associated with him. 
In 1894 they dissolved partnership, and Mr. 
J. C. Frederic, of Philadelphia became asso- 
ciated with Mr. Niles. They carried on an 
extensive business until Mr. Niles's death in 
1896. In politics he affiliated with the Re- 
publican party. 

Fraternally, he was an enthusiastic Mason, 
belonging to Paul Revere Lodge, A. I". & 
A. M. ; Satucket Royal Arch Chapter, and 
Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars. 
The Commercial and Howard Clubs also in- 
cluded him in their membership rolls. Mr. 
Niles was a great lover of horses, and was the 
owner of several animals of local reputation. 
Among these were Paddy De Long, who made 
a record of 2.29, Homer, and Miss Barbe, who 
are also well-known pacers on the track. He 
was greatly interested in the national game, 
rarely missing an opportunity to witness a 
match. Personally, he was fond of and popu- 
lar with children, even the newsboys contrib- 
uting many floral decorations at his funeral. 
Among all classes of people of a larger 
growth, he was likewise a great favorite. In 
his religious views he was liberal, attending 
the Universalist church, of which his wife 
was a member. On May 15, 1876, at North 
Easton, he was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Helen F. Thayer Calkins, widow of Clarence 
Calkins. 

Her first husband, Clarence Calkins, was 
born in West Bridgewater, October 4, 1S42, 
and died April 26, 1873. He was a shoe 
manufacturer, doing business alone until 
within three years of his death, Henry J. Me- 
lendy, of Boston, was admitted to partnershi]), 
the plant continuing under Mr. Calkins's 
name. At the time of the Civil War Mr. 
Calkins enlisted in Company I, Fifty-eighth 



Massachusetts Regiment, and served as Cor- 
poral of the Color Guard in the assault on 
Petersburg. He was taken prisoner, and con- 
fined for a long time in Libby and Danville 
Prisons, remaining in the service until the 
close of the war. On April 5, 1866, he mar- 
ried Helen F., daughter of Joseph G. Thayer, 
a shoe manufacturer of Brockton. Three chil- 
dren blessed their union: Clarence L., who is 
a foreman in the factory where the late A. M. 
Niles, his stepfather, carried on business; 
Clara, who married John Smith, of New Bed- 
ford, Mass., where she now resides; and Oscar 
L., who lives in this city. 



^PFrANK E. ANGERER, Secretary and 
P"!, Director of one of the large shoe manu- 
facturing companies of Brockton, was 
born in Walhalla, S.C, July 24, 1865, a son 
of August W. and Matilda (Fahrig) Angerer. 
August W. Angerer, who was born in the 
province of Wiilfrath, Germany, February 22, 
1832, studied in different universities in Ger- 
many, and became an accomplished linguist 
and deeply learned in the sciences. Herr 
Angerer lived for a number of years in Wash- 
ington, D.C., and was associated with some of 
the leading scholars of his time. In 1874 he 
was American Representative to the World's 
Congress of Languages at Berlin. For some 
time he was Lecturer on Political Economy at 
Cornell University. Subsequently he was 
Chief Translator and Statistician of the Treas- 
ury Department at Washington from 1865 up 
to the time of his death, which happened P^eb- 
ruary 23, 1877, at the age of forty -five. 
While in the service of the United States gov- 
ernment, he travelled for four years around the 
world to verify the statistics of different coun- 
tries. He was a member of the German 
Lutheran church. His wife, who was born in 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rp:VIE\V 



^('i 



Artern, Saxony, died January 31, 1895, aged 
fiftv-eij;Iit years. Tliey were the parents of 
four children, two of whom died young. The 
survivors are I'rank I'^. and iiis sister Minnie. 

Kranic K. Angerer attended the public 
schools of Washington, D.C., and sui)se. 
quently graduated from Gonzaga College. He 
served for nine years in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, in the successive capacities of 
page, clerk, and book-keeper. This experi- 
ence, which brought him into contact with the 
most brilliant men of the nation, broadened 
his mind, and gave to his early training a 
finish which no college could sujiply. He 
was afterward associated with his uncle at 
Wiilfrath, Germany, for about four years. 
He returned to America in 1887, and was en- 
gaged as confidential clerk and book-keeper by 
Lilly, Brackelt & Co., of Brockton. In May, 
1 895, a corporation was formed of this com- 
pany, and Mr. Angerer became Secretary and 
one of the Directors of the body. 

Mr. Angerer was married December 10, 
1889, to Marian Ing'ee, of Halifax, Plymouth 
County, and has two bright little daughters. 
Politically, he favors the Republican side. 
He was elected from Ward 6 to the City 
Council in 1894. He is a member of the 
Hrockton Lodge of the Benevolent and Protec- 
tive Order of I^lks, No. 164; and of the 
Brockton Commercial Club. In religion he 
favors the Unitarian belief, attending the 
Church of the Unity of Brockton. 



(^OHN DUNHAM, who is extensively 
engaged in the cultivation of cran- 
berries at Carver, was born here Sep- 
tember 3, 1822, son of James and Ruth (Pratt) 
Dunham. 

James Dunham, who had his birth in Plym- 
outh, was engaged throughout his active life 



in general agriculture in this town. By his 
wife, who was a native of Carver, and a daugh- 
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah Pratt, he became 
the father of nine children, five sons and four 
daughters, of whom seven yet survive. Mr. 
Dunham passed away July 31, 1870, aged 
sixty-nine years; and his wife, August 11, 
1 88 1. 

John Dunham attained maturity on the 
home farm, receiving his education in the pub- 
lic schools of his native town. When about 
eleven years old he began to learn shoemaking 
from his father. In his fifteenth year he went 
to work on a farm by the month, at which he 
continued three years. He then turned his 
attention to peddling, and was engaged in it 
for ten years. During the succeeding three 
years he ran a wagon through the surrounding 
country, selling boots and shoes, with other 
articles. Then, resuming the last, he con- 
ducted a shoe shop at North Carver for nine 
years. Since then he has been extensively 
and successfully engaged in the culture of 
cranberries. He erected all the buildings 
used in the industry. In 1861, on the out- 
break of the Civil War, Mr. Dunham enlisted 
in Company K, of the Third Regiment of 
Massachusetts Infantry. Subsequently, he 
was mustered in at Fortress Monroe as First 
Lieutenant, and then went to Hampton, Va. 
At the expiration of his term of service he 
was discharged at Boston as I'^irst Lieutenant. 

On November 22, 1845, Mr. Dunham was 
united in marriage with Miss Hannah H. 
Cobb, a daughter of Captain Charles anil 
Sylvia Cobb, of Carver, where she was born 
March 7, r820. Four children were born of 
the union, namely: Algelo L. , now ileceaseil ; 
Rebecca, born November 16, 1850; Rolinda, 
June 4, 1854; and Marrietta L. , November 
17, 1 861. Mr. Dunham takes an active in- 
terest in the affairs of the town, and he has 



264 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



served it for sixteen years in tlie capaeity of 
Public Surveyor. He maintains his fellow- 
ship with his comrades of the late war by as- 
sociation with Post No. S, of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, at Middleboro. He attends 
the Congregational church. In politics he 
supports the Republican party. 




"ENRY W. SEARS is one of the 
leading merchants of Middleboro, 

L^ V^ Mass., managing an extensive trade 

in lumber, doors, sashes, blinds, hardware and 
paints, and builders' supplies of all kinds. 
He was born in South Yarmouth, Mass., April 
24, 1859, son of Barnabas and Deborah M. 
(Clark) Sears. 

Barnabas Sears was a carpenter and builder. 
He removed from South Yarmouth to Middle- 
boro in 1874, and, in company with his 
brother, engaged in the lumber business, under 
the firm name of J. K. & B. Sears. He met 
with good success; and in the latter part of 
his life was practically retired, leaving the 
management of the business to his son. He 
died August 30, 1894, aged seventy-five. His 
wife was a daughter of Captain William 
Clark, of Brewster, Mass. Captain Clark's 
family consisted of four children; and it is 
curious to note that his youngest child died 
first, the third child next, then the second, 
next the eldest, then the mother, and last the 
father, who was the oldest of all. Mrs. Sears 
died April 22, 1885, when she was about fifty- 
three years of age. Her children were: Isaiah 
C. ; Etta F., wife of W. H. Doane, of New- 
ton, Mass.; and Henry W., the special sub- 
ject of the present sketch. 

Henry W. Sears, after attending the com- 
mon schools of South Yarmouth, took a three 
months' course of study at a commercial col- 
lege in Boston. When he was fifteen years of 



age he obtained a position in a grocery store, 
where he was employed about six months; and 
in 187s, when he was sixteen years old, he 
began to work for his father. On January i, 
1882, he took an interest in the business, the 
firm name being changed to its present form of 
J. K. & B. Sears & Co. Mr. Sears carries 
an extensive stock. His business is well con- 
ducted, and his trade is increasing every year. 
He married December 5, 1883, Martha S., 
daughter of James M. Pickens, of Middleboro, 
and has two children: Henry W., born Janu- 
ary II, 1888; and Mabel B., born April 20, 
1892. Mr. Sears is a strong and active Re- 
publican, anil has served on the Town Com- 
mittee. He is a stanch advocate of total 
abstinence, and is a member of the Sons of 
Temperance. He has been a Director in the 
Middleboro Co-operative Bank since the date 
of its organization in 1889, and is also on the 
finance and Security Committee, and is Pres- 
ident of the Commercial Club. In the Con- 
gregational Church he is Deacon, clerk, and 
President of the Christian Endeavor Society, 
and he is interested in the Sunday-school. 




lEUTENANT HENRY A. SEAV- 
ERNS, late a prominent member of 
the Grand Army, and the senior 
partner of the firm of Seaverns & Spear, one 
of the leading mercantile houses of Scituate, 
Mass., was for years actively identified with 
the business and social life of this town. He 
was born in Dorchester, Mass., April 21, 
1842, a son of Charles H. and Sarah L. 
(Smith) Seaverns. His parents also were 
natives of the old Bay State. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Dorchester, and 
after leaving school learned the machinist's 
trade, at which he worked for a short time. 
He was one of the youthful soldiers who 




HENRY A. SEAVERNS. 



i 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



267 



answered President Lincoln's call for volun- 
teers in May, 1861, enlisting on the tenth of 
the month, having just entered on his twenti- 
eth year. He was first enrolled as a private 
in the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteer In- 
fantry, joining Company K, under command 
of Captain Benjamin Stone, and was mustered 
into the United States Service at Fort War- 
ren, Boston Harbor, June 13, 1861. He was 
discharged August 26, 1861, at Washington, 
D.C. , by reason of sickness. He re-enlisted 
August 7, 1862, as Sergeant in Company H, 
Thirty-ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Infantry, in which he served also as 
Commissary-sergeant. He was discharged 
April 18, 1864, by order of Major-general 
Warren in order that he might accept a com- 
mission as Second Lieutenant, this commis- 
sion being dated March 30, 1864. He was 
present with his regiment and participated in 
the following engagements: Bristol Station, 
October 14, 1863; Rappahannock Station, 
November i, 1863; Mine Run, November 27, 
1863; Wilderness, May 3 to 7, 1864; Spott- 
.sylvania, May 8 to ig, 1864; Jericho Mills, 
May 23, 1864; North Anna, May 23 to 30, 
1864; Magnolia Swamp, June i, 1864; Be- 
thesda Church, June i to 3, 1864; Cold Har- 
bor, June 2 and 3, 1864; Norfolk Railroad, 
June 1 8, 1864; Jerusalem Plank Road, June 
20, 1864; Petersburg, June 30, 1864; Wel- 
don Railroad, August 18, 1864. 

In the last-named engagement he was se- 
verely wounded, a minie ball splitting on his 
sword; both pieces entered his thigh, piercing 
to the bone, one deflecting to the front, the 
other to the back, just glancing over the 
sciatic nerve. He was carried to the field 
hospital, where one piece of the bullet was 
removed. August 19 he was transferred to 
the division hospital, and on August 26 to 
the McClcllan Hospital at Philadelphia. On 



September 7 he was transferred to the Officers' 
Hospital. On September 15 he was commis- 
sioned First Lieutenant ; and on January 7, 
1865, he was discharged from the service on 
account of his wound. He then returned 
home, but found himself unable to resume 
work at his trade. In 1867 he bought out the 
firm of II. W. Bailey & Co., dealers in dry- 
goods and notions at Nf)rth Scituate. This 
business was established in 1823, and the store 
was well known to the people of Scituate and 
the adjoining towns. The store was enlarged, 
and the business was greatly increased by Mr. 
Seaverns. He managed the business for 
twenty years, from 1867 to 1887, under the 
name of H. A. Seaverns & Co. ; and then 
S. T. Spear, of Chelsea, Mass., becoming a 
partner, the style was changed to its present 
form, Seaverns & Spear. Shortly after this 
Mr. Seaverns visited P'lorida, hoping that his 
health would be benefited by the change of 
climate. There he contracted typhoid ma- 
laria, and his old wound broke out afresh, 
taking the form of serious inflammation of the 
knee joint. A complication of troubles re- 
sulted, and he was an invalid for over si.x 
years. He passed away September 26, 1S94, 
as the result of hemorrhage from wounds 
received in service. 

Mr. Seaverns was a very successful business 
man, and had the confidence and esteem of the 
community. He was Postmaster at North 
Scituate for a number of years, and served for 
some time on the School Board. A popular 
member of society, he belongeil to the Masonic 
fraternity and to George W. Perry Post, 
Grand Army of the Republic, of Scituate. 

He was a member of the First Baptist 

Church, having united with the Neponset 

church by baptism in May, 1S60, and was for 

nineteen years actively identified with its 

I work, teaching also in the Sabbath school. 



268 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



His obsequies were attended with cere- 
monies befitting the part he had taken in life, 
the Grand Army Post escorting his remains 
to Groveland Cemetery, where they were in- 
terred. In accordance with his expressed 
desire, the Rev. B. W. Barrows, of New 
York, the clergyman who had baptized him, 
came to officiate at the funeral ; but he was so 
much affected that the Rev. A. D. Spalding, 
his pastor here, conducted the services. The 
monument which marks his grave bears this 
inscription in obedience to his dying request: 
"A soldier of the Cross and of the Flag." 

Mr. Seaverns was married May 16, 1867, to 
Mercy G. Litchfield, a native of Scituate, 
daughter of James S. and Martha L. (Mott) 
Litchfield. Mr. Litchfield, now in his eighty- 
sixth year, resides in Scituate, a widower, his 
wife having departed this life some years ago. 
Mrs. Seaverns, who is a very capable woman, 
now represents her husband in the mercantile 
business. She has been a member of the 
First Baptist Church at North Scituate since 
she was nineteen years old. She has many 
acquaintances and friends in this vicinity, and 
is highly esteemed. 




IIOMAS N. ELDRIDGF:, a prosper- 
ous merchant of Plymouth, was born 
March 5, 1833, in Bourne, Mass., son 
of Captain Thomas M. and Ann (Haines) E\- 
dridge. The Eldridges were among the early 
settlers of Cape Cod, and became one of the 
most prominent families in that district. 
Captain Thomas M. Eldridge was a master 
mariner, and for many years was engaged in 
the China and liast India trade. He aban- 
doned the sea some twenty years previous to 
his death, and passed his last days in retire- 
ment. He married Ann Haines, a native of 
Cape Cod, whose father was a soldier in the 



War of 1 81 2. By her he became the father 
of eight children. Of these, Ann M., twin 
sister of Thomas N., is now a resident of New 
Bedford, Mass. 

Thomas N. Eldridge attended the common 
schools of Bourne. At the age of twelve years 
he went to sea. When fifteen years old he 
obtained emploj'ment in the dry-goods store 
of Jason Hart in Plymouth, where he remained 
until he was twenty-one, receiving for salary a 
dollar per week and his board. He then went 
to Boston, where he secured a position as clerk 
in the store of William R. Storms, with whom 
he remained for six months. Returning then 
to his former employer in Plymouth, he con- 
tinued with him until Mr. Hart's failure a 
year later. Thereupon he once more became 
an employee of Mr. Storms in Boston. He 
subsequently worked in several of the largest 
dry-goods stores of Boston, including that of 
Prescott Barker, at the corner of Tremont Row 
and Pemberton Square, formerly located at 28 
Hanover Street, and those of George B. 
Milton and George Whiting. After leaving 
the employ of Prescott Barker he went to P^air- 
haven, Mass., where he managed the grocery 
store of M. Delano & Co. for three years. 
About the year 1861 he returned to Plymouth 
as head clerk for B. O. Strong, in whose em- 
ployment he continued for twenty years. In 
1883 he commenced business here on his own 
account. Two years later, compelled by his 
increasing trade, he removed to his present 
store. Since then he has been obliged to take 
for his use another story of the building. He 
is also interested in one of the banks here, of 
which he is a director. 

In 1855 Mr. Eldridge wedded Eunice Pope, 
a daughter of Richard Pope, of Plymouth. 
His only son, William T., now assists him in 
business. He has been a member of the 
Masonic fraternity for the past twenty years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



260 



His success in lite lias boon won in the face of 
many ilifficulties by pluck and [iersevcrance. 




[^^ ,\R/.11,I..\I l-li;i.l), a farmer of 
Hiiickton, was bom here I'"ebruaiy 
17, I1S42, son of John and Olive 
(Thompsdn) I-"ield. His grandfather, Bar- 
zillai I'ield, fought in the Revolutionary War 
with his three brothers, ICpiniam, Fobes, and 
Richard. John I'ield, when but sixteen years 
old, served his country in tlie last war with 
lui^land. He follow-ed farming, and was 
Selectman of North Hridgevvater for one term. 
His wife, Olive, was a daughter of John 
'Ihonipson, whose house stood on the line 
between Stoughton and North Rridgewater. 
They had ten children — Olive, Franklin, 
Fustace, Owen A., Flizabeth, Clarissa, John, 
Charles T., Caroline, and Barzillai. Olive, 
born June 16, 1820, married Elisha Rumpus, 
a tailor of North Bridgewater, and is now 
deceased. Also deceased are: I'^ranklin, born 
April 7, 1822; Eustace, born May 17, 1824; 
and Owen, born July 24, 1S26. Elizabeth, 
who was born April 11, 1829, married Francis 
Brett, of South Paris, Me., and now resides 
in this city. Clarissa, born January 5, 1832, 
marrietl William W. Allen, of Brockton, and 
resides in California. John, born March 19, 
1834, is now living in the State of Minnesota. 
l'"or information regarding Charles T. , see the 
notice of his life elsewhere in this work. 
Carcdine, born August 27, r839, who became 
Mrs. Charles G. Wilber, of Brockton, has since 
passed away. The father died January 20, 
1866, in the seventieth year of his age. He 
was a man of indepenclent ideas respecting 
religious cpiestions, being one of the original 
members of the Swetlenborgian Church. The 
mother died on March 25, 1883, in the eighty- 
first year of her age. 



liarzillai I'"ield, after acquiring a common- 
school education here, t(Jok a course of study 
in the Hunt Academy. He then worked in 
the shoe shojjs for D. S. Howard and others for 
some time, anil then went to the West. Later 
he returned to the farm, which he now con- 
ducts. On July 8, 1864, he enlisted in Com- 
pany C, Si.xtieth Massachusetts Regiment, 
and, after serving f(jr a little more than four 
months at Indianapolis, he was honorably dis- 
charged November 30, 1864. 

On August II, 1874, Mr. l-"ield was united 
in marriage with I^Iizabeth I'utnam Kimball, 
of Campello. Her parents were Samuel and 
Betsy Ann (Keith) Kimball. Her father, 
who was born September 19, 1819, enlisted in 
Company E, Eighteenth Massachusetts, Au- 
gu.st 30, 1862, and was killed at the second 
battle of Bull Run. Mr. Field and his w^ife 
have a daughter, I""Iavella I'ield. In politics 
Mr. Field is an Independent. He is a com- 
rade of the Fletcher Webster I'ost, No. 13, 
Grand Army of the Republic. 




(^7Y ELEN DANFORTH was a well-known 
editor and banker of Plymouth. He 
was born at 'Paunton, Mass., Janu- 
ary 1 8, 1796, son of Asa and Deborah (Thayer) 
Danforth. Phe Danforths, who are an old 
and respected family of New luigland, come 
of English e.xtraction. In luigland their an- 
cestral history goes back to the year 1538. A 
record gives the information that Thomas 
Danforth in 1634 was executor of his mother's 
will. In the same year his brother Nicholas 
emigrated from England, and settled at Cam- 
bridge, Mass., where he died in 1638. Nich- 
olas's son Samuel, who was born in England in 
1626, and died in 1674, labored in the ministry 
at Ro.xbury, Mass., in conjunction with John 
Eliot, the celebrated Indian missionary. His 



270 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



son, the Rev. Samuel X)anforth, who was born 
December 18, 1666, graduated from Harvard 
College in 1683. Samuel wedded Miss Han- 
nah Allen, and with his family removed to 
Taunton, Mass., in 1687, where he passed 
away November 14, 1727. His son James, 
who was born November 11, 1692, married 
Miss Sarah Dean, and died February 27, 
1759. James Danforth, Jr., born July 16, 
1724, married Miss Mehitable Baker, by whom 
he became the father of Asa, and passed away 
on April 15, 1777. Asa Danforth, who was 
born January 9, 1766, wedded Miss Deborah 
Thayer, the mother of the subject of this 
sketch, and departed this life July 15, 1841. 

Allen Danforth resided in Taunton until 
1822, when he removed to Plymouth. On 
May 4 of that year he published the first num- 
ber of the Old Colony Memorial, which was the 
first newspaper produced in Plymouth. Hav- 
ing conducted that journal until 1836, he 
thereafter devoted his attention e.xclusively to 
financial institutions, enjoying the confidence 
and respect of all the people of Plymouth. 
He was one of the incorporators of the Plym- 
outh Institution for Savings, now called the 
Plymouth Savings Bank. In 1829, when the 
bank was a year old, he was elected Treasurer, 
in which capacity he served until his demise, 
a period of nearly forty-three years. When 
he assumed charge of the bank, its total de- 
posits were six thousand, seven hundred and 
forty dollars. At his decease they amounted 
to over one million, eight hundred thousand 
dollars. Mr. Danforth was also Secretary of 
the Old Colony Insurance Company from its 
organization in 1835 to 1853, during which 
time the company enjoyed uninterrupted 
prosperity. 

On December 13, 181 3, Mr. Danforth 
wedded Miss Lydia P. Seaver, a daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. William Seaver, of Taunton. 



Five children came of the marriage, namely: 
Nathaniel, born in 1821, who died in the fol- 
lowing year; James Allen, born September 
19, 1 8 19, who married Sarah T. Jackson, of 
Plymouth; Lydia Ann, born October 16, 
1825, who still resides on the old homestead; 
Mary A., born June 6, 1828, who became 
the wife of John J. Russell, of Plymouth; and 
William Seaver, born January 20, 1832, who 
wedded Miss Abbie D. Mace, of Colebrook, 
Conn. Mr. Danforth represented his district 
in the legislature of 1830-31, and he was 
Selectman of Plymouth in 184S and 1S49. 
He was affiliated with the fraternity of 
Masons, being a member of Plymouth Lodge, 
Plymouth. In national politics he was a Re- 
publican. He maintained fellowship with the 
Unitarian Church of Plymouth from the date 
of his settlement there to his decease, serving 
it for a part of that time in the capacity of 
Treasurer. He died May 28, 1872, in the 
full enjoyment of the confidence and respect 
of all who knew him, and regretted as a loss 
to Plymouth. 



/^^TaLEN HUMPHREY, an intelligent, 
\ p I prosperous, and highly esteemed citi- 
zen of Wareham, this county, was 
born September 2, 1823, at South Carver, 
Mass., son of Asa and Mary (Maxim) Hum- 
phrey. He attended the public schools at 
Carver, where he acquired a practical educa- 
tion fitting him -for the position of a teacher 
in the common schools, and before attaining 
his majority had spent two years as a teacher 
in Middleboro, Plymouth County. At the age 
of twenty he removed to Hopkinton, Middle- 
sex County, Mass. 

In 1845 Mr. Humphrey settled in East 
Wareham, and he there taught fifteen consecu- 
tive terms. In 1850 he started for California, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'T 



the Kldorado of tlic West, taking the pioneer 
route to San Francisco. Me remained in that 
vicinity until the spring of 1852, engaged in 
prospecting and mining; hut, not meeting with 
the wished-for success in his search for gold, 
he then returned to his native State. From 
that time until I1S63 he was engaged in farm- 
ing in Fast Wareliam, where he subsequently 
carried on a substantial grocery business for 
fifteen years. Disposing of his store in that 
place IMr. Humphrey was engaged as a mer- 
chant in -South W'areham from iS'So until 
1S83, but since that time has made his home 
at W'areham, where he occujjies an assured 
position among the useful and valued members 
of the community. 

On January 19, i<S53, Mr. Humphrey was 
united in marriage with Miss Nancy N. Besse, 
a daughter of Captain .Seth and .Sarah (Briggs) 
Hesse, of Warehani. They have four chil- 
dren, namely: Sophia 15., born November 23, 
i<S53; Albert, born December 3, 1855; Clin- 
ton, born April 30, 1S5.S, now deceased; and 
Horace M., born January 25, 1867. Sophia 
]\. Humphrey married. May 26, 1887, Almon 
H. -Stone, of I'hillijiston, Mass., and is the 
mother of one child — Nelson, born .September 
9, 1891. Albert Humjjhrey married in Janu- 
ary, 1892, lunma (J. I'ettigrew, of I'hillipston, 
Mass. They have one child — Mary F. , born 
in February, 1893. 

Politically, Mr. Humphrey is a decided Re- 
publican, and faithfully sustains the principles 
of that jiarty. He is also a stanch temperance 
advocate. He has been a member of the 
.School Committee fifteen years, a Justice of 
the Peace for the same period ; and he has 
likewise served as Selectman, Assessor, and 
Overseer of the Poor, besides being Road 
Master and holding other minor offices. Re- 
ligiously, he and his estimable wife are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 



JSAAC SAMPSON was born in Lakcville, 
Plymouth County, Mass., July 12, 
1826, and is to-day, after varied e.xperi- 
ences in life, a successful farmer in his native 
town. His parents were Nathaniel and Zil- 
pha L. (Shaw) Sampson. Nathaniel .Samp.son 
was also a native of I.akeville, and was the 
father of six children, three of whom are no 
longer living. The survivors are: Nathaniel 
M., Zilpha L. , and Isaac. Attending the 
district school and Pierce Academy in his 
boyhood, until the year 1850, Isaac Sampson 
lived on the farm where he had made his 
advent into the world, and among the sur- 
roundings of a peaceful country home jiassed 
his childhood and youth. The tidings from 
the adventurous explorers of the American 
Eldorado, who told of fabulous fortunes niaile 
in the Californian gold mines which had just 
been discovered, filled him with a desire to 
seek his fortune there also; so he took passage 
for San Francisco by way of the Isthmus, and 
landed in the city of the Golden Gate in the 
fall of 1850. 

Following the precedent of the Western 
pioneers, he took possession of a tract of land 
in Alameda County, and became what is called 
in the settlers' parlance, a ".squatter." With 
an energy born of intense ambition, the young 
New Englander ])ut in a crop of vegetables in 
July, and then hurried to the mines, where he 
purchased an interest in one which seemed to 
promise great returns. Having accomplished 
this arrangement, lie then returned to his field, 
and gave it his whole attention for several 
months. He then engaged in a mercantile 
enterprise at the Mission of San Jose, and 
continued in this from the winter of 185 1 to 
that of 1S53. In the latter year he returned 
to the old farm in I.akeville, Mass., glad, no 
doubt, to set his foot once more upon New 
Flugland soil. Here he remained until 1859, 



272 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



when a desire to breathe the balmy air of the 
Pacific shore again seized him, and he returned 
to San Jose and resumed his former pursuit in 
that growing town. In 1863 he returned East 
for his family^ for the ties of home and kin- 
dred were as strong as ever about his heart. 

The Western life seemed a different thing 
when wife and children were with him, and 
for three years the Sampsons lived in the land 
where so many fortunes had been made and 
wrecked within one short decade. In 1866 
he returned with his family to New England; 
but the West seems to have had a strange hold 
u[)on him, for in 1869 he again went to the 
Pacific coast, engaging this time in the com- 
mission business in San Francisco. His last 
journey to Calfornia was made in 1877, in 
which year he established himself in San 
Leandro as a merchant. This venture was 
short lived, as he returned to his native home 
in 1878, and has since resided here. It was 
on the third of his many Western voyages that 
Mr. Sampson experienced the horrors of ship- 
wreck, near Cape St. Lazro. The vessel went 
ashore; and he was finally taken off by a pass- 
ing steamer, and in this wise reached his des- 
tination after suffering and delay. 

While in California he was Postmaster of 
San Leandro, and was Notary Public for Ala- 
meda County; and he has in his own native 
place filled many ofifices of trust and impor- 
tance. He was first Town Clerk at Lakeville, 
and he has also been Treasurer, Assessor, Se- 
lectman, and a member of the School Commit- 
tee in the town of his birth and present resi- 
dence. 

The year 1S53 was the date of his marriage 
to Miss Julia Sampson, who did not change her 
name by becoming a bride. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Sampson two children were born, namely : 
Eugene H., who married Ardelia B. Merrill, 
daughter of Nathaniel Merrill, of Turner, 



Me.; and Julia I., who married James M. 
Willis, Jr., of New Bedford, Mass. 

Isaac Sampson is now settled on the farm 
of his inheritance; and he is a citizen with 
whom the people of Plymouth County would 
be loath to part again, for much travel has 
made him broad, liberal, and progressive, the 
sort of man who makes a just neighbor and a 
kindly friend. Having no special party preju- 
dices, he is at liberty to vote for whatever 
candidate seems best fitted to fill office, and 
may therefore be called in the best sense of 
the term an independent voter. 



S^YOSEPH RIPLEY, a highly respected 
old resident of Hingham, where he has 
been engaged as a manufacturer of fur- 
niture and as an undertaker for many years, 
was born here May 9, 1819. His parents were 
Nehemiah, third, and Eunice (Whiting) Rip- 
ley. His earliest known ancestor in America 
was William Ripley, who came from Hing- 
ham, Itngland, in 1638, and settled in Hing- 
ham, Mass. His wife, who, with their two 
sons and two daughters accompanied him, died 
a few years later; and on September 29, 1654, 
he was married to Mrs. Eizabeth Thaxter, 
widow of Thomas Tha.xter. William Ripley 
died July 20, 1656. His second wife outlived 
him, and on January 20, 1658, married her 
third husband, John Dwight, of Dedham. 
She died July 17, 1660. 

John, the first-born son of William Rijiley, 
married Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Peter 
Hobart. He died February 3, 1684, and his 
wife died March 26, 1692, at the age of si.xty. 
Ne.xt in the ancestral line was Peter, the fifth 
child of John and Elizabeth (Hobart) Ripley, 
who was born October 21, 1668. On April 
17. 1693. he was united in marriage with 
Sarah Lassell, daughter of John and Elizabeth 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



273 



((Jatcs) Lassell. Slic was born in Hinghan'i, 
November 29, 1666, and died September 19, 
1736. lie died April 22, 1742. He lived on 
the paternal homestead on Main Street, Hing- 
ham Centre, and was an influential man in 
town affairs, serving as Constable in 1708 and 
as Selectman in 1725. 

Peter, the second child of Peter and Sarah 
(Lassell) Ripley, was born in Ilingham, No- 
vember 7, 1695, and on January 5, 1720, mar- 
ried Silence Lincoln, daughter of Caleb and 
Rachel (Hate) Lincoln. She was born here 
December 26, 1692, and died March 11, 1760. 
Peter Ripley, second, died in April, 1765, 
having officiated as Constable in 1735, and 
as Selectman in 1738 and 1741. He also re- 
sided on the old paternal acres. Nehemiah, 
first, son of Peter and Silence (Lincoln) Rip- 
ley, born April 2, 1727, was married June 4, 
1752, to Lydia Hobart, daughter of the Rev. 
Nehemiah and Lydia (Jacob) Ilobart. She 
was liorn in this town I-'cbruary 9, 1733. Ne- 
hemiah Ripley, first, was a farmer, and served 
the town as Constable in 1766. He died 
August 10, 1769, aged forty-three. His son, 
Nehemiah, second, born April 18, 1755, on 
February 24, 1780, married Priscilla Lincoln, 
whose parents were Moses and Mary (Burr) 
Lincoln. She was born here February 13, 
1757, and died March 30, 1S29. Nehemiah, 
second, died March 8, 1829. He also occu- 
pied the ancestral farm. By his marriage 
there were nine children: Nehemiah, third, 
the father of the subject of this sketch; Jus- 
tin, who died very young; a second Justin; 
Lydia, who also died in early life; John; 
Peter; P^bed ; Priscilla; and Lydia. 

Nehemiah, third, .son of Nehemiah, second, 
and Priscilla (Lincoln) Ripley, was born in 
Hingham, November 5, 1780. He also fol- 
lowed farming on the old home acres. On 
February i, 1S07, he was married to Eunice 



Whiting, daughter of Amasa and Lydia (Ja- 
cobs) Whiting. She was a native of Hing- 
ham, born in June, 1786. She died October 
15, 1850, and he died October 11, 1863, leav- 
ing six children: Eunice W., who married 
P'rancis Campbell, of Milton, Mass. ; Ann 
Eliza, the wife of Winslow C. Whiting, of 
New York; Abigail, now Mrs. William 
Whiton; Nehemiah; Joseph; and Lydia Ja- 
cobs, who married Abner L. Baker. A .son, 
Peter, died in 1841, aged seventeen. William 
died in 1853, in his twenty-fifth year. An- 
other had died in infancy. 

Joseph Ripley during his boyhood worked 
at farming and everything else he could get to 
do, his early educational opportunities being 
limited to brief terms of schooling. He, 
however, gained by experience and contact 
with the business world a fund of practical 
knowledge which has served him in good 
stead. When he was seventeen years old he 
was apprenticed in Milton to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade, which he readily acquired. Upon 
attaining his majority he returned to Hingham ; 
and, instead of making a business of carpenter- 
ing, in 1842 he engaged with his brother in 
the manufacture of furniture. Two years 
later he formed another partnership with Mr. 
Newhall, under the firm name of Ripley & 
Newhall. They manufactured furniture for the 
Boston market with good financial success until 
1882, when the partnership was dissolved by 
mutual consent. In the meanwhile Joseph 
Ripley had given attention to the undertaking 
business, which had assumed such proportions 
as to require his undivided time. He has 
continued engaged in this ever since, keeping 
pace with the latest improvements in embalm- 
ing and furnishings, being also an excellent 
funeral director. He is pleasantly located on 
South Street, his residence being on one side of 
the street and his place of business on the other. 



274 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Ripley married Elizabeth L. Lane in 
1846, and they celebrated their golden wed- 
ding last June. In politics he is a Republi- 
can, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont, 
and voting for every Republican Presidential 
candidate ever since. Religiously, he was 
brought up under Unitarian influence; but 
since 1842 he has been a member of the 
Uaptist church, in which he is actively inter- 
ested. He is a Deacon who is tender in his 
relations with the church, being a Christian 
gentleman who tries to follow the example 
and teaching of the Master. Though he has 
attained the age of seventy-seven years, he is 
still vigorous and active. 




ILLIAM STETSON, a well-known 
carpenter and contractor of Brock- 
ton, was born in Pembroke, Plym- 
outh County, in 1842. His parents were 
Harvey, Jr., and Abigail D. (Walker) Stet- 
son. The family, which is of English origin, 
was founded by Cornet Robert Stetson, who 
came from the County of Kent, England, in 
1634. He settled in Scituate, Mass., on a 
farm adjoining the one supposed to be alluded 
to in the popular song, "The Old Oaken 
]5ucket." His rank of cornet was received in 
the first company of horse raised in the Plym- 
outh Colony. He married and became the 
father of four sons. Harvey Stetson, the 
grandfather of William, was born in Pem- 
broke, where he was subsequently engaged in 
the trade of ship carpenter. He married 
Polly Lanman, of Scituate, and they had three 
children — Harvey, Jr., Mary Ann, and Ed- 
ward. Harvey Stetson, Jr., a native of Plym- 
outh, was considered a mechanical genius. 
He was also engaged in ship-building, but he 
subsequently forsook that calling for farming. 
By his wife, Abigail D., he became the father 



of three children — Isaac, William, and John 
— and he died at the age of seventy-four 
years. 

After attending the common school in his 
native town for the usual period, William 
Stetson took a course at Bryant & Stratton's 
Commercial College in Providence. He sub- 
sequently learned the carpenter's trade in less 
time than any other apprentice of his em- 
ployer. He was afterward employed in a cot- 
ton gin manufactory for some time. Then he 
and D. H. Dunbar kept a grocery store, the 
firm being known as Dunbar & Stetson. 
After that he worked at his trade in Boston, 
Lynn, and Bridgewater, and was in the em- 
ployment of Charles Johnson, of Brockton, as 
foreman for four years. In the centennial 
year he began undertaking contracts in Brock- 
ton. Now, in the possession of a profitable 
contracting business, he puts up houses to 
sell, and otherwise deals in real estate. On 
September 8, 1875, Mr. Stetson was united in 
marriage with Diana P. Beale, of West 
Bridgewater. While he supports the Repub- 
lican party, he takes no part in political affairs 
beyond voting. At several times he has been 
solicited to accept important public offices. 



DPrEDERICK SIMPSON STRONG was 
\^\g for over thirty years superintendent of 
the Carver Cotton Gin Company of East 
Bridgewater, also one of its stockholders and 
directors; and much of its early success is due 
to his wise management and his valuable 
labor-saving inventions, on which large royal- 
ties had been paid. Mr. Strong was born in 
South Coventry, Conn., August 25, 1824, a 
son of Frederick A. and Julia (Simpson) 
Strong, both natives of that town. His an- 
cestry was a distinguished one, the family 
characteristics being patriotism, a keen sense 







^^^^-^-t'it 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i^^ 



of right and wrong, and great simplicity and 
purity of character. 

He was eighth in descent from KIder John 
Strong, who came to the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony from I'jigland in 1630, and was active 
in founding the towns of Dorchester, Hing- 
ham, anil Taunton. Removing finally to 
Northampton in 1659, he took a prominent 
part in the development of that place. He 
was possessed of considerable wealth, and was 
a large land-owner. Of standi Puritanical 
principles, he was the head and support of the 
church in Northampton. His descendants, 
who were men and women of firm character, 
jironiinent in every generation in church and 
town affairs, settled in various towns in Con- 
necticut. In 1763 Justice Joseph Strong, at 
the age of eighty-nine was elected for the 
fifty-second time to the Colonial legislature; 
Caleb Strong was United States Senator from 
1788 to 1800, and Governor of Massachusetts 
in 1800; another member of the family, a 
physician, was commissioned by Washington 
in 1793 as Surgeon in General Wayne's army. 
Roger Strong, who was Paymaster in the army 
in the War of 1812, was the father of Fred- 
erick A., and grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch. Frederick A. Strong was a large 
manufacturer of Connecticut: and his wife, 
the mother of Frederick S. , was a cousin of 
General Ulysses Simpson Grant. 

Frederick Simpson Strong received an aca- 
demic education, and prepared for college, 
but, owing to ill health, did not take a further 
course of study. He taught school for a 
while, and was gradually drawn into me- 
chanics, for which he had a natural genius. 
In the early fifties he was engaged in the man- 
ufacture of firearms for the United States gov- 
ernment at Springfield; and he was subse- 
quently, as a member of a New York firm, 
engaged in superintending the dressing of 



stone by machinery in New York, having two 
thousand men under his charge. The panic 
of 1857 made it necessary for this firm to sus- 
pend business, and Mr. Strong then obtained 
the position of su]>erintendcnt of the Fast 
Carver Cotton Gin Company, now known as the 
Carver Cotton Gin Company of East Bridge- 
water. He had been connected but a short 
time with this concern when the mills were 
destroyed by fire; and in the re-establishing of 
the plant his mechanical skill and inventive 
genius were of great service. During the 
war the manufacture of cotton gins was sus- 
pended, and Mr. Strong entered the employ of 
the national government, superintending the 
manufacture of swords and rifies at West 
Chelmsford, Mass., and the manufacture of 
Remington rifles at Ilion, N. Y. His knowl- 
edge of the manufacture of arms being of im- 
measurable value to the government, they 
would not allow him to go into the army, 
therefore he furnished a substitute. A pretty 
good record for an ardent Democrat I 

As the war neared its close, he returned 
to East Bridgewater, and purchased one of the 
most beautiful residences in town, a house 
built by the famous Oliver Ames, of North 
Easton, for his daughter. Mr. Strong, becom- 
ing one of the partners in the Carver Cotton 
Gin Company, was made its superintendent, 
and remained in that capacity as long as 
he lived. Among the most important of his 
patented inventions were: the iron cylinder 
for cotton gins; the cotton-gin feeder; a 
wedge-driving machine; a leather splitting 
machine; and the Acme Leveller, an indis- 
pensable adjunct now to shoe machinery. 

Mr. Strong was constant and untiring in his 
application to business; and when business 
was cared for, his time was devoted to his 
home and family with great tenderness and 
fidelity. After the loss of his beloved son. 



278 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



this man of strength and vigor seemed to be 
crushed to the earth by his weight of sorrow. 
Never again had he the same interest in life 
as before, and in a little over a year death 
came as a relief to restore him to his son's 
companionship. 

Mr. Strong was one of the incorporators and 
a Trustee of the East Bridgewater Savings 
Bank. He was Chairman of the East Bridge- 
water School Committee for several years, and 
a member of the Social Club. Prominent in 
Masonic circles, he was Past Master Bridge- 
water Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and was really 
the founder and first Master of Satucket 
Lodge, A. F. & A M., of East Bridgewater. 
He was Commander for a number of years 
of the Old Colony Commandery, Knights 
Templars, of Abington, and was a member 
of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in Bos- 
ton. He was seventeen years superintendent 
of the Sunday-school of the Unitarian church, 
to which he devoted much time and money. 
He was popular alike with those in his own 
station in life, and those subject to his orders; 
and a thrill of consternation went through the 
community wdien it was announced that he had 
been stricken with paralysis in his ofifice at the 
mills. And when, a few days later, he passed 
away, the mourning for his loss was general. 
He died October 22, 1894, and his remains 
were interred in Mount Auburn, the Knights 
Templars conducting the obsequies. 

Mr. Strong was married February 15, 1853, 
to Sarah Frances, daughter of Luke and Eliza 
(Sage) Pratt. She was born May 13, 1832, in 
Springfield, Mass., where many generations of 
her family have lived and died, and where the 
old Pratt homestead is still standing. Mrs. 
Strong's great-grandfather, Jonathan Phillips, 
was a Revolutionary soldier, and she belongs 
to the Daughters of the Revolution. She is 
an esteemed member of the Unitarian Society 



at East Bridgewater, and both she and her 
husband were members of the Universal ist 
church at Springfield, to which, in companion- 
ship with him, she devoted much of her time 
and means. F"or several years Mrs. Strong 
was a teacher in the Sunday-school. She took 
part in the literary and social activities of the 
town, and was a member of the Shakspere 
Club from the time of its organization, nearly 
a quarter of a century ago. She has always 
been interested in those things that pertain to 
intellectual and moral advancement. The 
union of PVederick Simpson Strong and Sarah 
Frances Pratt was blessed with one son, 
Charles Pratt Strong, who died somewhat over 
a year previous to his father's demise, after a 
short and brilliant career as a physician and 
surgeon. 

Charles Pratt Strong was born in Spring- 
field, Mass., December 19, 1855. He was a 
graduate of East Bridgewater High School at 
thirteen years of age, but remained one year 
longer to study Greek and Latin, under the 
instruction of Mr. Fa.xon. The following 
year he entered Phillips Exeter Academy at 
Exeter, N. H., in the Senior class, with more 
knowledge of Greek and Latin than was re- 
quired the first year at Harvard College. At 
fifteen years of age he passed a successful ex- 
amination for Harvard College, with honors in 
Greek, Latin, and mathematics. 

He was enrolled in the class which was 
graduated in 1876, and received his degree 
from the medical department in 1S81. In the 
first part of his college course his bent seemed 
toward the natural sciences; but in his second 
year in the medical school his inborn fitness 
for the profession he had chosen became evi- 
dent, and he threw himself heart and soul into 
acquiring the knowledge needful for his life 
work. He gained his initial practice as house 
officer at the Boston Lying-in Hospital, the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



2S1 



Free Hospital for Women, and the Massachu- 
setts General Hospital. Starting as a general 
practitioner in lioston in 1882, he soon drifted 
into gynecology as a specialty, and in ten 
years he rose to the front rank of his pro- 
fession. Unaided by wealth or influential 
friends, his love of his profession, his con- 
scientious work, his pure and honorable char- 
acter, almost womanly in its sweetness, and 
his manly independence, attached to him all 
with whom he came in contact; aTul the 
demand for his services yearly increased. He 
gave his time and energies unsparingly to his 
patients, j^rivate and charitable, and accom- 
plished a great amount of hospital work. 

He was a born surgeon. One of his older 
associates has said, "Dr. Strong knew by in- 
tuition what it took others years to learn"; 
and another, "He had at the early age of 
thirty-seven reached the zenith of his profes- 
sion." Dr. Strong had one ambition which 
he hoped to gratify, and that was to have a 
private hospital of his own, where he could 
expand his work, and increase his powers for 
saving life and preventing suffering. Doubt- 
less the magnificent estate at h^lmwood in East 
Bridgewater, charming and salubrious in its 
location, beautiful in scenery, the delightful 
home of his boyhood days, where his beloved 
mother, now doubly bereft in loss of husband 
and son, still resides, would have been the 
chosen spot. But in his devotion to his pro- 
fession and suffering humanity his life was 
sacrificed before the cherished plan could be 
executed. Two of the Doctor's leading char- 
acteristics were his love of home and of his 
profession. His office was in his dwelling, 
on the water side of l^eacon Street, No. 258, 
only a short distance from the residence of Dr. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

The charitable institutions with which Dr. 
Strong was connected at the time of his death 



were the Free Hospital for Women, in which 
he was assistant surgeon, and the Massachu- 
.setts General Hospital, where he was acting 
as physician to out-patients. As an expert in 
abdominal surgery, he was called upon to per- 
form an operation on a friend suffering from 
an acute attack of appendicitis; and the case 
was of such virulence that the operation failed 
to save the patient's life, and led to the death 
of the physician. In little more than twenty- 
four hours after he had attended to the case, 
Dr. Strong became conscious of symptoms of 
blood-poisoning, and he died within six days, 
March 14, 1893. He was at that time assi.st- 
ant in gynecology in the medical department 
of Harvard University; a fellow of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society, of the Boston So- 
ciety for Medical Improvement, of the Boston 
Society for Medical Observation, of the Bos- 
ton Obstetrical Society, and of the American 
Gynecological Society. He was also an hon- 
ored member of the noted St. Hotolph Club. 

Miss Sarah Daggett, of Commonwealth 
Avenue, Boston, whose life Dr. Strong had 
saved, conceived the idea of founding a schol- 
arship in Harvard Medical School to perpetu- 
ate his memory. .She contributed thereto, as 
did others; and so jjleasing was the idea to his 
parents that they forwarded handsome checks, 
and the balance is provided for in Mrs. 
Strong's will. This enables some worthy stu- 
dent, whose means are limited, to obtain an 
education. In the Art Museum in Boston, a 
bronze bas-relief reminds us of the young phy- 
sician's life. As here represented, the Angel 
of Death stretches out his hand, and stays the 
work but partly completed; ami, looking with 
saddened eyes upon this emblem, comes the 
blessed thought of immortality and reunion. 

Dr. Strong was married October 9, 1S84, 
by the Rev. Dr. Bartol, in the old West 
Church, Boston, to .Miss .Mary Baker. The 



282 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Baker family were among the English colo- 
nists of Massachusetts, coming to this country 
in 1634, and settling in Lynn. They were 
farmers, merchants, soldiers, scholars, and 
took part in the French and Indian wars, the 
Revolution, and the War of 1812. One son, 
Bryant Strong, born January 29, 1889, shares 
with his mother "the heritage of pride in the 
husband and father who died at the post of 
duty." 



61 HOI 



HOMAS J. LeBARON, who resides 
(^1 on the old homestead in Middleboro, 
where his life has been spent in the 
time-honored vocation of a farmer, was born 
here, April i, 184S, son of Thomas M. and 
Sarah C. (Morse) LeBaron. His parents had 
four sons and two daughters. After attending 
the district school near his home, Thomas J. 
LeBaron took a supplementary course of study 
at Jenks's Academy, Middleboro. He con- 
tinued to live with his parents on the home 
farm, of which, upon the death of his father, 
who departed January 3, 1895, aged eighty- 
four years, he became the owner. The place 
contains about eighty acres; but in addition to 
this he owns other land, the aggregate amount 
being about three hundred acres. He carries 
on general farming with fairly profitable re- 
sults, and is also engaged to some extent in 
lumbering, owning a saw-mill in the town of 
Rochester. In politics he is a Democrat. 
On April 8, 1879, Mr. LeBaron was married 
to Miss Sylvia Morse, by whom he has three 
children; namely, Ralph J., Roy M., and 
William E. 



ENRY C. PECKHAM, a well-known 
mechanic of Brockton, was born in 

L^ V^ , Fall River, Mass., April 28, 1835, 

son of Henry Peckham, Jr., and Lydia P. 




(Smith) Peckham. His grandfather, Henry 
Peckham, Sr. , who was a farmer of Newport, 
R.I., and served his country in the last war 
with lingland, married Esther Gould, of South 
Kingston. She was the mother of his thir- 
teen children, but three of whom are now liv- 
ing. Of the latter, one is a resident of Los 
Angeles, Cal., and the other two are living in 
Fall River, Mass. The father joined the 
Ba|Dtist church when he was sixty-five years 
old. He lived to be ninety, while his wife 
died at the age of eighty years. Henry Peck- 
ham, Jr., a native of Newport, R.I., was suc- 
cessively a cabinet-maker and a pattern-maker. 
He drafted the first locomotive patterns for 
the car shops of Taunton, Mass. Subse- 
quently he was engaged in the turning busi- 
ness at New Bedford. In religion he was a 
Baptist, and belonged to the society of the 
Baptist church in Fall River. He married 
Lydia P. Smith, who lived in the vicinity of 
Newport, and by her became the father of six- 
teen children. She is still living, being in 
her ninety-first year. The father died at the 
age of sixty. 

Henry C. Peckham lived in Fall River with 
his parents until he was eight years old. 
Then he removed with them to South Middle- 
boro, now Lakeville, and there remained five 
years. In 1848 the family removed to Swan- 
sea, Mass., where Henry C. spent his time for 
some years, working on his father's farm in the 
summer and attending the common schools in 
the winter. In the spring of 1852, being then 
seventeen years old, he went to Fall River to 
learn the trade of wood-turner of Nelson N. 
Brightman, and remained with him fourteen 
months. Subsequently he was in company 
with his father in Providence, R.I., for a 
time. In 1854 he returned to Fall River, and 
found employment at his trade working for 
A. L. Westgate & Co. In 1858 he removed 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



283 



to West nridgevvatcr, where he learned to 
make shoes. Me aftcrwanl worked in the 
stitch ing-room of Sawyer, Collaman & Co., 
Campello. In 1864 he opened a meat market 
in Somerset, Mass. He was later associated 
for some three years with his brother in the 
shoe business at Coclicsett, this county, under 
the style of II. C. & C. T. Peckham. In 
1 868 he engaged with H. A. Dean & Co., to 
run his stitching-room. In August, 1869, 
he came to North Bridgewater, now Brock- 
ton, and worked at turning for George M. 
Copeland. On June 29, 1874, A. C. Thomp- 
son purciiased the business of Mr. Copeland, 
and since that time Mr. reckham has been 
associated with Mr. Thompson. Altogether 
he has been in the wood-turning business for 
about twenty-seven years. He has also been 
interested to quite an e.\tent in real estate. 

On October 15, 1855, Mr. Peckham was 
united in marriage with Elizabeth H. Bliss, of 
Rehoboth, Mass. Slie has had five children, 
two of whom are now living. These arc: 
Alton E. and Julia W. The latter is now the 
wife of Mr. Simmons. In politics Mr. Peck- 
ham is an Independent. He is a member 
of Park Revere Lodge, A. K. & A. M., of 
Satucket ; and is in the Royal yVrch Chapter, 
and the Bay State Commandery, Knights 
Templars. 




AMUEL McI.AUTHLEN, Jk., a 
successful carpenter and contractor 
of Brockton, was born in Kingston, 
Plymouth County, November 7, 1822, son of 
Samuel and Hannah (Weston) McLauthlen. 
Robert, the founder of the family, who came 
from Scotland in 1695, and settled in Dux- 
bury, married Mary Miller. His son Joseph, 
a native of Du.xbur)' and a farmer, married 
Jane West, and became the father of seven 
sons and three daughters. Of these Samuel, 



the father of the subject of this sketch, was 
the si.xth child. Born in Pembroke, he subsc- 
quenty moved to Kingston, where he was en- 
gaged in farming throughout the rest of his 
life. He married Hannah (Baker) Weston, 
a widow of Marshfield. Her genealogy has 
been traced back to 1637, when one of her 
ancestors, Samuel Baker, married Plleanor 
Winslow. She had one son, Peter, by her 
first marriage. There were four children by 
the .second marriage; namely, Hannah Baker, 
Christiana Holmes, Samuel, and Simeon 
Weston. Of these Samuel is the only sur- 
vivor. Both parents are likewise deceased. 

After acquiring his education in the public 
schools of Kingston, Samuel McLauthlen 
learned the carpenter's trade with J(jseph 
Holmes of that place. For three years he 
worked in Mr. Holmes's shipyard. Thence 
he came to North Bridgewater, and had been 
employed four years by Dunbar & Soule, car- 
penters and contractors, when they went into 
the lumber business. He and Cephas Soule 
then conducted business under the style of 
Soule & McLauthlen for years. After the 
partnershi[) was dissolved, .Mr. McLauthlen 
conducted the business alone until 1S68, when 
he began to work in Brockton, where he has 
since built several engine-houses and private 
dwellings. 

Mr. McLauthlen has been twice married. 
The first wife, Hannah Beal (Snell) McLauth- 
len, who was a daughter of Zachariah Snell, 
of North Bridgewater, bore him four children. 
These were: Charles Weston, a resident of 
Boston; George W. , who lives in Stoughtun ; 
Frank A., who, within a year has bought out 
Mr. Chander's store, and is now running it; 
and Hattic Emma, now deceased. His present 
wife was the widow of George H. Gurney. In 
politics Mr. McLauthlen affiliates with the 
Republican party. He has served as Engineer 



284 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the Fire Depiirtment for four years. He 
is identified with P'raternal Lodge, No. 24, 
Independent Order of Good Templars. In re- 
ligion he is orthodox, being a member of the 
First Congregational Church. 



(ff^yOHN E. ASHLEY, a representative 
farmer of the town of Lakeville, Plym- 
outh County, was born here, July 30, 
1835, son of David Ashley. After receiving 
a district-school education he turned his atten- 
tion to agriculture, making his home with his 
parents until his marriage. About the year 
18S4 he purchased his present farm, which 
contains ninety-six acres; and he is here profit- 
ably engaged in carrying on general farming 
and the raising of small fruits. 

In 1875 Mr. Ashley was married to Miss 
M. G. Paul!, of Middleboro. Mr. Ashley is 
a Democrat, politically. 



^^»^» 




HARLES W. SPARRELL, a well- 



known resident of Norwell, proprietor 
of the oldest undertaking establish- 
ment in this part of Plymouth County, was 
born in the village of Norwell, December 30, 
1835, a son of James N. Sparrell. 

Equipped with a public school education, 
the subject of this skctcli at seventeen years of 
age began life for himself, taking charge of 
the business which his father had established 
in 1S40, and which consisted of general under- 
taking and the manufacture of caskets. In 
1862 he enlisted in Company F of the Forty- 
third Massachusetts Regiment, and was mus- 
tered in at Readville for nine months' service. 
The first engagement in which he took part 
was at Young's Cross Roads, and it was fol- 
lowed in his experience by the battles of 
Goldsborough and Whitehall. For four 



months Mr. Sparrell was confined in the 
Foster Hospital at New Berne, N. C, on ac- 
count of disease resulting from the hardships 
and privations of army life. He received an 
honorable discharge eleven months from the 
time of his enlistment. On May 25, 1859, 
Mr. Sparrell married Miss Susan Ewell, of 
Marshfield, Mass. They have had six chil- 
dren; namely, Albert, Mary, Walter (de- 
ceased), Ernest, Helen (deceased), and John. 
Mr. Sparrell is a member of Phoenix Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., of Hanover; also of D. 
Willard Robinson Post, No. [12, Grand 
Army of the Republic, and of Satuit Grange, 
No. 187, of Norwell. 



TT^HARLES C. ROGERS, an expert 
I ly machinist of Brockton, was born in 

V*h_^ Dexter, Me., November 26, 1864, 
son of Thomas and Sarah (Carlcton) Rogers. 
His great-grandfather, Thomas, came to this 
country from England about one hundred and 
fifty years ago, and settled in Veazie, Me., 
where the family were prominent for a long 
time as lumber dealers, controlling the most 
of the water power and owning a number of 
mills. Thomas Rogers, second, the grand- 
father, was born in England, and came to this 
country with his parents, being a child at the 
time. He owned a saw-mill for a while, and 
in the latter part of his life worked as a mill- 
wright. He was over eight}" years of age 
when he died. Thomas Rogers reared two 
sons, Thomas (third) and Richard. Richard, 
who was a '"Forty-niner," died in California. 
Thomas Rogers, third, the father of Charles 
C. , was born in Veazie, Me. He learned the 
millwright's trade, and became an expert ma- 
chinist, equalled by few in his line of work. 
Travelling extensively he located saw-mills as 
far west as L'pper Stillwater, Minn., and be- 




HENRY B. MAGLATHLIN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



came known throLif^h a large section of the 
country. For a number of years prior to his 
death he had a foundry and machine shop in 
Dexter, Me. Mr. Rogers served for some 
time as Constable and as Deputy Sheriff of 
Dc.Nter. He was a member of the Universalist 
church of that town. 11 is wife, who was a 
daughter of Charles Carleton, of Oldtown, a 
Revolutionary soldier, had nine children, of 
whom six are now living. 

Charles C. Rogers was the youngest of his 
parents' children. lie received a good educa- 
tion, attending the Dexter High School and 
the Iloulton (Me.) Academy, which was 
under the supervision of the faculty of Colby 
University. At the Houlton Academy he 
spent four years. In i88i he entered the 
employ of Goddard, Shaw & Co., of Brockton, 
with whom he remained until they went out 
of business. He worked for F. L. .Stone 
from that time until 1SS4, when he was ap- 
pointed Superintendent of the fire alarm and 
telegraph departments of Brockton, a position 
which he held until 1887. In that year he re- 
new-ed his connection with Mr. Stone for some 
time, and in 1889 he and Mr. Goddard, form- 
ing the firm of Goddard & Rogers, purchased 
Mr. Stone's business. On May i, 1896, he 
purchased Mr. Goddard's share, and since that 
time has conducted the place without an asso- 
ciate. He is an expert and reliable workman, 
and has admirably fulfilled a number of impor- 
tant contracts. 

Mr. Rogers was married in i8gi to the 
eldest daughter (if William H. Wade, the 
junior member of the Brockton firm of O. O. 
Patten & Co., and now has two children. In 
politics he favors the Democratic side. A 
resident of Brockton for fifteen years, Mr. 
Rogers is clo.sely identified with the industrial 
life of the place, and may be regarded as a 
representative citizen. 



OHN F. SI I AW, a highly respected 
resident of Carver, was born in the 
town of Middleboro, Plymouth County, 
May 2, 1830, son of Klkanah and Nancy 
(Freeman) Shaw. His parents had five chil- 
dren; namely, Nancy, Maria, John I*"., F. 
Howard, and Mary F. During his early life 
John F. Shaw liveil on a farm and for the 
usual period attended the common school. 
He came to South Carver when twelve years 
old. At the age of fourteen he obtained em- 
ployment in the iron foundry here. A fen- 
years later he went to Jersey City, N.J., where 
he worked at the trade of moulder for about 
two years. Then he returned to South Carver 
and went to work in the B. Ellis iron foundry, 
where he was employed for twenty years. 
Since that time he has been teaming for the 
foundry, the teams being his own property. 
He also engaged in raising cranberries. In 
1888 he erected the house in which he resides. 
Mr. Shaw is a Democrat in politics. He has 
never sought or held office. 

In 1854 Mr. Shaw was married to Miss 
Drucilla L. Bolles, daughter of Leonard and 
lueline Bolles, of Marion, Mass. They had 
three children, of whom l'"ranklin H. is living. 
He married Miss Nancy Griffith, and has four 
children — Bernard E., Gerard F\, Gertrude 
F., and John V. 




Al'TAIX lli:\RV B. MAGI. ATI! 
LIN, of Kingston, Mass., who com- 
manded a company of Massachu- 
setts Volunteers in the Civil War, is widely 
known as a worker in the cause of education 
and in the interests of labor reform. He was 
born in Duxbury, Mass., May 16, 1819, son 
of Bartlett and Maria Weston (Chandler) 
Maglathlin. His great-grandfather, John Ma- 
glathlin, son of Robert and Isabella (Samson) 



288 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Maglathlin, was born in Scotland in 1695, 
came to America in 1712, and settled perma- 
nently in Duxbury in 1741. John, by descent, 
was kin to Robert Bruce, who became King 
Robert I. of Scotland. 

While a boy on his father's farm, remote 
from schools, Henry B. Maglathlin conceived 
the idea of acquiring a liberal education. To 
obtain the means of defraying the expenses of 
a more advanced course of study than that 
offered by a country district school, he engaged 
as operative for a year in the cotton factory, 
working fourteen hours a day; and at the age 
of sixteen he began to earn money by teaching 
school. By the beginnings thus made, and by 
dint of perseverance in the face of many ob- 
stacles, he was able to meet the expense of 
preparing for and going through the college 
course at Harvard University, where he was 
graduated in 1843. He remained there three 
years longer, pursuing various studies, and 
was graduated at the Divinity School in 
1846. He subsequently had charge of a classi- 
cal institute in the State of Maine, which he 
gave up after three years on account of failing 
health. 

In 1849 a Boston publisher brought out for 
him an educational work of which twenty-five 
editions were sold. The same year he ac- 
cepted from his publisher a business agency, 
with the view of regaining his health by trav- 
elling; and he spent several years in this occu- 
pation, visiting different parts of the United 
States and Canada and forming many acquain- 
tances. From 1856 to 1862 he was occupied 
largely with editorial labors, associated with 
Benjamin Greenleaf, the well-known mathe- 
matician, in rewriting the National Arithme- 
tic, and in composing the Elementary Alge- 
bra, Geometry, and Trigonometry in the 
Greenleaf series. Later he edited the New 
Higher Algebra; and he brought out in 1866, 



on his own account, the New I^lementar}' 
Arithmetic and the New Practical Arithmetic, 
as a part of the Greenleaf series. From 1870 
to 1873 he was engaged with the late Professor 
Daniel B. Hagar, Princijial of the Massachu- 
setts State Normal School at Salem, in the 
preparation of mathematical works, which 
were published in Philadelphia. In the ex- 
tension of the Greenleaf series he prepared, 
on his own account, in 1877, the Manual of 
Intellectual Arithmetic, and in 1881 the First 
Lessons in Numbers, Brief Course in Arith- 
metic, and Complete Arithmetic. His arith- 
metics in the Greenleaf series have maintained 
a remarkable popularity, being used exten- 
sively in different parts of this country and 
also in some of the English provinces. The 
National Arithmetic has been translated into 
Spanish, and several other books of the series 
have been republished outside of the United 
States. In 1896 he issued revised and im- 
proved editions of the Brief Course in Arith- 
metic, and of the Complete Arithmetic. In 
1863 he was honored by Tufts College with 
an appointment to the Mathematical Examina- 
tion Committee. 

In 1 86 1 Mr. Maglathlin was elected Repre- 
sentative from the towns of Duxbury and 
Kingston to the Massachusetts legislature; 
and after the adjournment in 1862, at a town 
meeting in Duxbury, he headed the enlistment 
under a call for volunteers to serve in the War 
of the Rebellion. A company having been 
raised, mostly by his efforts, he, although 
without military experience, was chosen its 
commander. The company became a part of 
the P'ourth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Infantry, and was in the Twenty-fifth 
Army Corps, Department of the Gulf. At the 
surrender of Port Hudson, which, in the lan- 
guage of President Lincoln, allowed the Mis- 
sissippi to "run unvexed to the sea," Captain 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



289 



Maglathlin had charge of the parallels at the 
extreme front. Me svas in all the expeditions 
and engagements of his regiment. 

Mr. Maglathlin early became interested in 
educational methods and work. He was 
elected a member of the School Committee of 
Waterville, Me., in 1847; of the School Com- 
mittee of Diixbiiry for three years in 1857; of 
the School Committee of Kingston for three 
years in 1890, and again in 1893. On his 
retirement from the Hoard at the close of his 
last term, the average attendance in the 
Kingston schools ranked first in the county of 
Plymouth. When in the Massachusetts legis- 
lature he served on the Joint Committee on 
ICducation. The town of Kingston in 1896 
chose Captain Maglathlin a member of the 
committee for carrying out the will of Fred- 
erick C. Adams for the establishment of a 
public library. 

He was first jniljjicly identified with labor 
matters in 1870, when, being urgently so- 
licited, he consented to lead a forlorn hope as 
a Labor Reform candidate for Councillor for 
the First District of Massachusetts. He was 
handsomely supported by members of different 
parties, receiving about four thousand five hun- 
dred votes. The next year he was the nomi- 
nee of the same party for Secretary of State. 
He has been a member of the Sovereigns of 
Industry, Knights of Labor, and other like 
associations for the improvement of the condi- 
tion of the industrial classes. He has been 
for years an earnest advocate of co-operation, 
distributive and productive. For several 
years Captain Maglathlin served as President 
of a co-operative foundry company; and the 
Co-operative Store at Silver Lake, Kingston, 
founded June 14, 1875, under his management 
for more than twenty-five years notably pros- 
pered, it being the longest American trial of 
the Rochdale plan. On founding, in 1895, 



the Co-operative Union of America, he was 
elected a member of its Central Hoard. 

He was married in 1854 to Elizabeth, 
daughter of Dura and Abigail (Cushman) 
Wadsworth, of Duxbury, and has three chil- 
dren : Abby, who married George F. Lane, of 
Kingston; Arthur, who is a resident of Whit- 
man ; and Alice, who married Edmund Hrad- 
ford, (jf Kingston. Captain Maglathlin's 
home until 1886, excepting the years he was 
in Maine, was on the ancestral place in Dux- 
bury, which had belonged successively to his 
great-grandather, his grandfather, and his 
father. P'or the past ten years he has resided 
at Silver Lake, a hamlet in Kingston. 




LIAH LATHAM, one of the oldest and 
most prominent residents of Flast 
Hridgewater, was born here Septem- 
ber 26, 1 81 8, son of Galen and Susan (Keith) 
Latham, both of whom were also natives of 
this town. Woodward Latham, the father of 
Galen, was a son of Charles. The first of the 
Latham family in America was William, an 
English emigrant, who settled in Plymouth, 
Mass., some time in the seventeenth century. 
Galen Latham spent his life on the farm now 
owned by Eliab. While giving due attention 
to his farm, he also discharged the duties of 
Lieutenant in a company of State militia. 
His death occurred in 1844. He had four 
sons and two daughters, of whom Eliab, the 
youngest, is the only survivor. The education 
of Eliab was obtained in the public schools 
and at Hridgewater Academy. The active 
years of his life have been spent in farming at 
the homestead, which contains about one hun- 
dred and seventeen acres of good land. In 
his younger days he carried on a wood and 
lumber business. He is also interested in the 
East Hridgewater Savings Hank, of which he 



290 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was an incorporator, and is now a Trustee. 
On September 8, 1S46, Mr. Latham married 
Susan A. Hobart, who was born in Ea.st 
Bridgewater, a daughter of the late Judge 
Aaron Hobart. They had four sons, of whom 
two are living. These are: James W., who 
resides with his parents; and Aaron H., an 
attorney-at-law doing business at 5 Tremont 
Street, Boston. The deceased were George H. 
and Eliab A. Mrs. Latham passed away in 
March, 1893. She was a member of the Uni- 
tarian church, and was very active in social 
circles. 

Up to 1852 Mr. Latham was a Whig. 
Since that time he has been an independent 
politician, casting his vote without regard to 
party lines. Possessed of a laudable amount 
of public spirit, he has always taken pride in 
the advancement of the community. The town 
has had the benefit of his services as Select- 
man for nearly a score of years. 



T^yiARLES T. FIELD, an esteemed 
I >p citizen of Brockton engaged in the 
\i° ^ real estate business, having an 
office in Boston on Washington Street, oppo- 
site the Globe Building, was born in North 
Bridgewater, Mass., now Brockton, October 
I, 1836, a son of John and Olive (Thompson) 
Field. 

The date of the arrival in this country of 
John F"ield, the first American ancestor of the 
family, is not recorded ; but in 1677 he came 
from Providence, R.I., and took up his abode 
in West Bridgewater, Mass., where he resided 
about twenty years, his estate being settled in 
the interest of his heirs in 1698. He was the 
father of three sons and four daughters, born 
as follows: John, in 1671; Elizabeth, in 
1673; Richard, in 1677; Lydia, in 1679; 
Daniel, in 16S1 ; Ruth, in 1683; and Hannah. 



Richard, the second son, was the next lineal 
representative of this branch. He married, on 
January 17, 1704, Susanna Waldo, and died 
September 14, 1725. A brief record of their 
eleven children is as follows: Zobiah, born 
March 28, 1705, died April 3, 1708; Zebu- 
Ion, born August 23, 1707, married Anna 
Williams, of Taunton, in 1749; Mary, born 
October 5, 1709, was married in 1748 to Sam- 
uel Noyes; Richard was born October 21, 
1711; Jabez, born September 29, 1713; Ruth, 
born August 6, 171 5, married Israel Packard, 
Jr., in 1737; Zachariah was born September 
13, 1717; Zobiah, born March 4, 1719, died 
November 26, 1722; Susanna was born Au- 
gust 6, 1721 ; Mercy, born April 17, 1723, 
married Archibald Robinson in 1747; Su- 
sanna, born May 18, 1725, married Nathan 
Hart well in 1746. 

Jabez Field, who died in 1804, aged ninety- 
two years, married in 1746 Mary, daughter of 
P'phraim Fobes. They were the parents of 
nine children, as follows: Jabez, born March 
25, 1747, who died unmarried; Susanna, born 
November 9, 1748, who married on April 13, 
1773, Moses Gary; Richard, born July 22, 
175 1, who married Rebecca Harris in 177S; 
William, who was born July 28, 1753, and 
married Jemima Keith in 1797; liphraim, 
born October ig, i75S, who married Ruby 
Brett, December 14, 1786; Daniel, born Sep- 
tember 20, 1758; Barzilla, born December 6, 
1760; Bethuel, born August 28, 1763, who 
died unmarried ; and Waldo, who removed to 
the West. 

Daniel Field, the great-uncle of Charles T. 
Field of this sketch, married on July 13, 
1786, Hannah Snell, the daughter of Gaptain 
Zebedee Snell, and by this union had three 
children: Martha, born November 19, 1786; 
Zophar, born January 14, 1789; and Waldo, 
born March 8, 1791. Zophar Field married 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



291 



Ucrnice Howard, February 6, 1811, and they 
had eight children, namely: Harriet, born in 
1812; Daniel, born in 1S14; Louisa, born in 
1816; George, born in i S 1 S ; Louisa, born in 
1820; Hannah, born May 4, 1823, who mar- 
ried Cyrus Howard, Jr. ; Charles Copeland, 
born March 18, 1826, who married Lucy Cobb 
Cross; William Lawrence, who was born Octo- 
ber 20, 1828, and married Mary Dennison 
Holmes, of Middleboro. The children of the 
last-named couple were: William b'obes, born 
July 21, 1854; Daniel Waldo, born February 
18, 1856; Marcia Alice, born November 28, 
1857; and I'rcderick Forrest, born May 11, 
1861. Zophar I'ieKl died September 6, 1863, 
and his wife January 28, 1833. 

Uarzilla Field, the grandfather of Charles 
T. , was a Revolutionary patriot. He died in 
1839, aged seventy-eight, lie was married 
December 25, 1794, to Patt\', daughter of 
David Packard. Their children were: John, 
born December 15, 1796; Chloe, born Novem- 
ber 14, 1799; Mary, born April 24, 1802, who 
married Zibeon Cole in 1819; Clarissa, born 
August 20, 1806; and Lucius, born June 11, 
1 8 1 I . 

John Field, son of Barzilla, was a native of 
North Bridgewater. He was a stone-cutter 
by trade, furnishing fine stone for finishing, 
but his later years were spent in farming. In 
politics a Democrat, he was nominated as 
a Representative to the State legislature, but 
dill not receive the election. He, however, 
served acceptably as Selectman. He was a 
member of the Swedenborgian church. At 
the time of his death in 1866 he was seventy 
years old. Although but si.xteen years old at 
the time of the War of 18 12, he was in active 
service. Olive Thomjison, to whom he was 
married in October, 181 7, was a daughter of 
James Thompson, of Campello. They were 
the parents of ten children, si.\ boys and four 



girls, all of whom lived to maturity. Olive, 
the eldest, born June 16, 1820, married No- 
vember 10, 1839, Klisha H. Bumpus; Frank- 
lin, born .Ajiril 7, 1822, married October 24, 
1S50, Alice P. Simmons; Fustace, born May 
17, 1824, married November 25, 1847, Maria 
Snow; Owen, born July 24, 1826, married 
Hannah P. Tobey ; I'^lizabeth, born A])ril 11, 
1829, married March 2, 1856, Francis Brett; 
Clarissa, born January 5, 1832, married Will- 
iam W. Allen, of Mansfield; John, born 
March ig, 1834, married Carrie Rosa Wood- 
bury, of Rochester, Minn. ; Charles Thomp- 
son is the special subject of this sketch; Car- 
oline was born August 27, 1839; and l?arzilla 
was born February 17, 1832. Olive, Frank- 
lin, Eustace, Owen, and Charles Thompson 
are now living. 

Charles Thompson Field was the eighth 
child in order of birth. He received a com- 
mon-school education, and made his home on 
the farm with his parents tmtil their death. 

He afterward went into the business of en- 
larging pictures, and followed it successfully 
for a number of years. When he was about 
nineteen years of age, however, and before his 
parental home was broken u|), he shi|)ped on 
board a coasting \essel ; anil he was later on a 
fishing vessel that went to the Grand Banks. 
Since he became older he has visited many 
countries, among them England, Scotland, and 
France, in travel for his health. P'or the past 
seven years he has engaged in the real estate 
business, and, as already noted at the begin- 
ning of this sketch, now has an oflfice in 
Boston, besides being interested in real estate 
here in Brockton. Naturally of a retiring 
and home-loving disposition, he has taken 
but little interest in ordinary [lolitics or po- 
litical affairs in a party sense. He is a 
member of the New Jerusalem, or Sweden- 
borgian, chinch. 



292 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Field married first Laura Washburne, 
of Raynham, and by this union he had five 
children, three boys and two girls; namely, 
Charles W. , Albert D., Eustace, Laura J., 
and Helen M. Mrs. Laura W. Field died in 
1S87. For a second wife Mr. Field married 
Martha A. Robbins, of Abington, by whom he 
has one daughter, Mary Robbins. 



■OSEPH W. BRIGGS is a substantial 
representative of the practical and pro- 
gressive agriculturists of Plymouth 
County, owning and managing a well-ap- 
pointed farm of one hundred and twenty-five 
acres in the town of Marion, his native place. 
He was born on February 14, St. Valentine's 
Day, 1837, and has now nearly reached his 
sixtieth birthday. 

His father, Captain Elnathan Briggs, fol- 
lowed the sea for more than twoscore years, 
being master of a vessel the last fifteen years 
of the time, hi 1S62 he retired from active 
pursuits spending his last days with his son 
Joseph, at whose home he died in March last, 
1896, aged eighty-seven years. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Rhoda D. Allen, is 
still living with her son Nathan, being a bright 
and active woman of eighty-five years. Mrs. 
Briggs and her husband reared five children, 
namely: Nathan; Justus; Isaac; Betsey; and 
Joseph VV. , the direct subject of this biograph- 
ical sketch. 

Joseph VV. Briggs began life on his own 
account when a lad of fourteen years, going 
then to North Bridgewater, now Brockton, 
where he was employed for some time in shoe- 
making. He subsequently sailed on a mer- 
chant vessel, first as a common seaman, after- 
ward for some years as mate. In 1861 he 
started for California, going via Cape Horn, 
and serving as mate on the bark which carried 



him across the waters. After engaging for a 
short time in mining, he lived in San Fran- 
cisco until i86g, when he returned to his early 
home and settled on his present farm. Mr. 
Briggs has since given his attention to general 
farming and teaming, carrying on a successful 
business in both branches of industry. Polit- 
ically, he is a sound Republican, and, though 
not an aspirant for official honors, has served 
as Road Commissioner. Fraternally, he is a 
member of the Masonic order, belonging to 
Pythagorean Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Marion. 

Mr. Briggs was married November 14, 1865, 
to Miss Cynthia Delano, a native of Marion, 
Mass., a daughter of Benjamin and Thankful 
Delano. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have two chil- 
dren — Frank W. and Mabel C. 



;sfrASON K. VINCENT, of Brockton, 
a shoe manufacturer of long experi- 
ence, who is now foreman of the stitch- 
ing department of D. W. Field's factory, was 
born here July 4, 1848, son of Joseph and 
Elizabeth (Jenkins) Vincent. His great- 
grandfather, Joseph, who fought in the Revo- 
lutionary War under Washington, was one 
of those who suffered the privations of Valley 
Forge. Samuel Vincent, Mr. Vincent's 
grandfather, a native of Salem, Mass., who 
was a rope-maker and followed that trade for ' 
some years in Boston, died in 1826, aged 
thirty-eight years. He wedded Mercy Willis, 
a native of Edgartown, Mass., and reared five 
children ; namely, Joseph, Sarah, Anna, Sam- 
uel, and Daniel. Of these the only survivor 
is Sarah, who married, and is now residing in 
Wright's, a town of Southern California, 
named in honor of her husband. The mother, 
who attained the age of eighty-two years, died 
in 1871. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



293 



Joseph Vincent was born in l^oston, I'elini- 
ary 12, 1X17. While still yoinig he came to 
lirockton, where he attended the coniinon 
schools. After leaving school he learned 
shoemaking. Subseciuently he was employed 
as a cutter of sole leather in I-lmcrson's and 
Henry Howard's shoe factories, and was for 
many years identified with the slioe industry 
of this city. He died March 25, 1894, aged 
seventy-eight years. In politics he was a Re- 
publican. He belonged to Massasoit Lodge, 
No. 6g, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
of l^rockton. For more than thirty years he 
was a member of the South Congregational 
Church. Ilis wife, I^lizabetli, was a daughter 
of David and Annie (ICdwnrds) Jenkins, of 
Fastjjort, Me., who reared seven other chil- 
dren — Ann, Martha, Mary, John, David, 
Stanford, and Henry, all now deceased. 
Mrs. Josejih Vincent liail five children, 
namely: Joseph. Jenkins, who was born De- 
cember 17, 1S39; Elizabeth A., who was born 
January 4, 1843; Stanford W. , who was born 
September 8, 1846; Jason K., the subject of 
this sketch; and Daniel II., who was born 
May 14, 1S52. She died May 1, 1887, aged 
seventy-six years. 

Jason K. Vincent acc|uircd his education in 
the [Hiblic schools of Brockton. When his 
stutlies were coni[)leted he began work in the 
shoe factory of A. and A. 15. Keith, where he 
remained three years. He then went to the 
factory of J. O. Emerson, where be had charge 
of the stitching room for seven years. He 
ne.xt engaged in business upon his own ac- 
count, establishing a factory on Market Street, 
where he manufactured shoes for si.\ years with 
good success. His plant was destroyed by fire 
April 9, 1879, and since then he has occujiied 
his present responsible position of foreman of 
the stitching department at D. W. ImcUI's 
factory. 



On November 13, 1 S77, Mr. Vincent was 
united in marriage to Harriet O., daughter of 
Caleb and Julia Nickerson, of Chatham, Mass. 
Two children are tiie fruit of this union, 
namely: lulith Louise, who was born October 
29, 1881 ; and I''orest Nickerson, who was 
born June 9, 1887. In politics Mr. \'inccnt 
supports the Reiniblican party. He is a mem- 
ber of Paul Revere Lodge, A. I". & A. M., 
of Brockton. The friends made by him in his 
business and social relations are legjon. 




R1:KMAN HOWARD HOLMES, a 
dealer in real estate, and a representa- 
tive citizen of Plymouth, had his birth 
June 7, 1850, at Manomet Point, this county, 
son of Cromwell W. and Mary R. (Cornish) 
Holmes. His father, who was born in Plym- 
outh, there followed the occupation of farmer. 
He married Mary R. Cornish, a native of 
Plymouth, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
(Freeman) Cornish, the former of whom was a 
farmer. By her he became the father of four 
children — Sarah E., Cromwell F., John B., 
and Freeman Howard. Sarah, who died in 
1894, became the wife of James H. Crosby, 
a contractor and builder of Barnstable, Mass., 
who died in 1892. Cromwell, who was a 
member of the New England Volunteer Life- 
saving Crew stationed at Manomet, was 
drowned in 1867, in attempting to rescue the 
crew of a wrecked schooner. 

The father departed this life in 1SS5, at the 
age of seventy-nine years. His wife, now in 
her eightieth year, lives with her son, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. 

P'reeman Howard Holmes grew to manhood 
on the home farm, receiving his education in 
the schools of his native town. From 1870 to 
1880 he conducted at Boston a wholesale busi- 
ness in books and stationery. For the past 



294 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 






few years he has been engaged in the poultry 
business at Plymouth, and also carries on an 
extensive trade in real estate. In addition to 
this, for the past twenty years he has kept 
summer boarders, running at present three 
houses at Plymouth for their accommodation. 
He is also the agent of his district for the 
Walter A. Wood Machine Company of Hoo- 
sick Falls; and is likewise agent for the 
United States, Halliday, and Gem Wind-mills 
of Batavia, 111. 

On November 26, 1873, Mr. Holmes 
wedded Miss Emma Holmes, who was born at 
Plymouth, September 9, 185 1. They have 
three children, namely: Lizzie M., who at 
present resides .at home, and is pursuing a 
normal college course; Angie C. ; and John 
H. C. Mr. Holmes has served for several 
years on the Board of Selectmen, and for four- 
teen years he has officiated as a Justice of the 
Peace. Mr. Holmes is also county corre- 
spondent for the United States Department of 
Agriculture. He is affiliated with the Inde- 
pendent Order of United American Mechanics, 
being a member of Alexander M. Harrison 
Council, No. 16, Plymouth; and he is also a 
member of the Old Colony Club. In politics 
he is identified with the Republican party. 
He is a member of the Second Congregational 
Church of Plymouth, where he has been Su- 
perintendent of the Sabbath school for twenty 

years. 

> ■■ *» 

TT^OLONEL HAWKES FEARING, 
( J Librarian of the Hingham Public 

^i^ ^ Library, is a native of the town. 
He was born May 20, 1826, son of Hawkes 
and Matilda (Wilder) Fearing, and is the de- 
scendant of an early settler, his family being 
of English extraction. 

His immigrant ancestor, John Fearing, 
came from Cambridge, England, and settled 



in Hingham in 1638. In 1652 he was made 
freeman, and in 1648, 1661; and 1663, he 
officiated as Selectman, serving also as Deacon 
of the church for many years. He and his 
wife, Margaret, had four children. His death 
occurred on May 14, 1665; and his wife, sur- 
viving him, married again. 

Israel Fearing, second son of John, was 
baptized in Hingham in 1644. He was a 
cooper by trade. He married Elizabeth 
Wilder, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth 
(Ames) Wilder, and they had five children. 
He died in Dorchester, Mass., in 1693, at 
the age of forty-eight years, while his wife 
lived in Hingham until January 27, 1730, 
attaining the age of seventy-eight. Their 
eldest son, John P^earing, born in Hing- 
ham, December 29, 1674, was a farmer and 
weaver. He also was officially prominent, 
serving as Constable and Selectman for 
many years. He married Margaret Hawke, 
daughter of James and Sarah (Jacob) Hawke, 
on May 8, 1708, and by this union had 
four children. The father died November 
7, 1752, at the age of seventy-eight; and 
the mother, on September 28, 1764, aged 
eighty-three. 

Hawkes Fearing, their third child and the 
great-grandfather of the subject of this biog- 
raphy, was born in Hingham, July 13, 1715. 
He was a farmer and extensive land -owner of 
Hingham, and served as Selectman for three 
years. He married Margrett Lincoln, daugh- 
ter of David and Leah (Beal) Lincoln; and 
they were the parents of thirteen children, of 
whom Hawkes, second, was their only son and 
fifth child. He was a merchant in Hingham; 
and in 1794 he established the rope-walk, 
which he continued to manage until his death. 
It is still in operation, the business having 
grown to large dimensions. Although his 
opportunities were limited, Hawkes Fearing, 




GEORGE F. WING. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



297 



second, who was the first to add an s to the 
name "llawke, " was very successful in accu- 
mulating property. He served as Representa- 
tive to the legislature from 1806 to 1811 in- 
clusive. The maiden whom he led to the 
marriage altar was Leah Lincoln, daughter of 
Enoch and Rachel (Fearing) Lincoln. By 
this alliance there were eleven children. 
Grandfather Fearing lived to be seventy-six 
years old, and his wife attained the advanced 
age of eighty five. 

Their second son, Mavvkcs Fearing, the 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
on December lo, 1781. Following in the 
well-defined footsteps of his worthy father, he 
was a rope manufacturer; and, being very in- 
dustrious and thrifty, he left a good property 
at his death. In politics heafifiliated with the 
Whigs, and in his religious belief he was a 
Unitarian. He died at the age of eighty-two 
years; and his wife, Matilda, who was a 
daughter of ICdwanl and Mary (Ilersey) 
Wilder, died at eighty-six, having been the 
mother of five children, three sons and two 
daugiiters. Hawkcs Fearing, the eldest son, 
ami the third of his name, after acquiring his 
education in the schools of his native town, 
worked in the rope-walk for several years. 
He then went to Boston, where he was em- 
ployed a few years in a bank. Later he 
engaged in the general merchandise business, 
in which he continued until the breaking out 
of the Civil War. He was at that time Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of the Fourth Massachusetts 
Volunteer Militia, and went with the regiment 
to Fortress Monroe, arriving there on April 
20, 1 86 1. He was subsequently Colonel of 
the I'^ighth New Hampshire Volunteers, and 
served in the Gulf Department until the close 
of the war. I'or a time thereafter he was in 
Virginia. On his return to Hingham he was 
appointed Librarian, and in that capacity he 



has continued to render efficient service ever 
since. 

In politics a Republican, he has officiated 
on the School Committee, as Town Clerk, and 
Road Commissioner; and he was a Represen- 
tative to the General Court in 1871 and 1872. 
Fraternally, he is a member of Old Colony 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; and the Edwin Hum- 
phrey Post, No. 104, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of Hingham. A man of strict integ- 
rity, courteous and obliging, discharging the 
duties of his position with military precision 
and promptitude, Colonel Fearing is a highly 
esteemed citizen. 

On November 20, i860, he was united in 
marriage with Eliza B. Gushing, daughter of 
Bracklcy and Eliza (Hartlett) Gushing, of Ab- 
ington, Mass. They _have one child, a daugh- 
ter, Anna M., born in Manchester, N.H., on 
February 16, 1865. She married William R. 
Burr, of Hingham. In their religious faith 
and affiliation Colonel and Mrs. Fearing are 
Unitarians. 



/37eC)RGP: F. WING, who has served on 
V p I the Wareham Board of Selectmen for 
nearly twenty years, is a California 
"forty-niner," and has had a busy and eventful 
life. He was born in Wareham, Mass., Octo- 
ber II, 1827, a son of Benjamin and Delia 
(Clifton) Wing. His parents had five chil- 
dren, of whom two are now living: the subject 
of this sketch; and Delia A., who married 
William H. Fearing, and resides in Wareham. 
Mr. Wing's early education, which was 
limited, was acquired in the public schools of 
his native town. When he was fifteen years 
of age he shipped on a coasting-vessel, and for 
two years was engaged as a seaman. He then 
learned the carpenter's trade at F'airhaven, 
Mass., where he worked about four years, and 
later he was employed as a carpenter in Ware- 



298 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ham. In 1849 he was one of a company of 
sixty-six who purchased and provisioned a 
vessel called the "Mount Vernon, "and started 
for the gold fields of California, sailing from 
Mattapoiset around Cape Horn. They were 
five months and a half on the voyage, their 
suspense being sweetened by visions of the 
fortunes awaiting them in the Golden State. 

Arriving in San Francisco, Mr. Wing sold 
his interest in the vessel, and began prospect- 
ing and mining, being one of the five to dig 
the first gold on the famous Horseshoe Bend 
on Merced River. He experienced all the 
stern realities of life in a community that was 
practically lawless, and discovered that mining 
was not the easiest way of making a fortune. 
He remained in California until the spring of 
1855, a part of the time working at his trade, 
and for a year driving a pack train. On his 
return to VVareham, he went to work for the 
Parker Mills Company as a millwright. After 
following that trade for fourteen years, he 
started in business as a contractor and builder, 
and he is now known as one of the most prom- 
inent and reliable builders in the locality. 

He was married November 28, 1855, to 
Fidelia Johnson, daughter of Samuel and 
Sarah Johnson, of Dartmouth, Mass. Five 
children were born to them, as follows: Dora 
M. ; Frank C, now deceased; Mary G. ; Oscar 
B. ; and George F., Jr. 

Mr. Wing is active among the Democrats 
of the town, and has been elected to a number 
of offices of trust. He has served continu- 
ously on the Board of Selectmen since the 
spring of 1878, and has also efficiently filled 
the offices of Assessor and Overseer of the 
Poor for the same time. He has been a 
Mason for many years, being active in the fra- 
ternity, occupying various chairs, for three 
years serving as Master, and during the past 
six years filling the office of Treasurer. 




ALEB T. ROBBINS, a veteran of the 
Civil War, who keeps a variety store 
in Plymouth, and is also engaged in 
farming, was born in Sandwich, Mass., July 
16, 1 84 1, son of Thomas and Jane E. (Nye) 
Robbins. Thomas Robbins, who was a native 
of Harwich, Barnstable County, settled in 
Sandwich, was a sailor for the greater part of 
his life, and died at sea. He married Jane E. 
Nye, a native of Troy, N. Y., and reared a 
family of four children, of whom Caleb T. , 
the subject of this sketch, was the first born. 

Caleb T. Robbins attended the common 
schools of Sandwich. Beginning at the age 
of twelve, he worked on a farm until he was 
sixteen years old. He was afterward em- 
ployed for two years by the Sandwich Tack 
Company. After a season spent in the United 
States Coast Survey service, he enlisted as a 
private in Company D, Third Regiment, Mas- 
sachusetts Volunteers, April 9, 1S61, being 
among the first to respond to President Lin- 
coln's urgent call for seventy-five thousand 
recruits. The regiment was attached to the 
Irish Brigade, which was assigned to duty in 
Richardson's Division of the Second Army 
Corps, and stationed first at Fortress Monroe 
and Newport News, being later ordered to 
Norfolk and Suffolk, Va. From Suffolk his 
regiment was ordered into active service, and 
took part in the battles of Fair Oaks, the 
sieges of Knoxville and Vicksburg, the mem- 
orable struggle of the Wilderness, and the en- 
gagement at Spottsylvania Court-house. He 
was discharged September 14, 1864, in poor 
health, incapacitated for laborious employ- 
ment. At intervals, after the close of the 
war, he was engaged for some time in the 
United States Coast Survey service. Subse- 
quently, under his physician's advice to seek 
some steady out-of-door employment, he ped- 
dled with a team for about nine years. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



299 



then opened a small store in Plymouth. Two 
or three years later he disposeil of his peddling 
business, vviiich he had managed to continue 
up to then, and lie has since given his atten- 
tion exclusively to his store. He carries a 
large miscellaneous stock of goods, such as is 
usually found in a general variety store, mak- 
ing a specialty of china and glass ware, and 
he has a very profitable business. For the 
past eight or nine years he has also been en- 
gaged in general farming. At the present 
time he owns about forty acres of valuable 
land, which amply repay their care and culti- 
vation. 

In 1870 Mr. Robbins wedded Anna M. 
Baker, daughter of Thomas Baker, of Sand- 
wich, anil he and Mrs. Robbins have two 
daughters. He is a comrade of Post "jt. 
Grand Army of the Republic, and a member 
of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, Minute Men 
of Massachusetts. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat. Both he and Mrs. Robbins attend the 
Orthodox church. Despite the feeble state of 
his health, he has shown remarkable energy 
and perseverance. He is much respected by 
his fellow-townsmen, who appreciate his worth 
as a citizen, as well as his honorable record as 
a soldier; and he is very popular among the 
veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. 



AMK.S H. GRIFFITH, a well-known 
cariienter and builder of Hull, Plym- 
outh County, Massachusetts, was born 
in Boston on August 6, 1854. He passed his 
early years in attending the public schools of 
that city. On .Ajiril 15, 1865, he came to 
Hull, and remained here four years, returning 
at the end of that time to Boston to learn the 
trade of carpenter and builder. I'rom 1872 to 
1889 he was located in Quincy, Mass., and 
during that time took a course in architecture. 



being graduated in 1885 with honors. He 
then returned to Hull, and has since resided 
here, engaged in the pursuit of his calling. 
Among the many fine residences erected by 
him are the P>ast P'nd Hotel and the Vining 
Villa, besides three houses for himself. He 
also owns real estate in Quincy, Mass. Mr. 
Griffith makes his home in the Vining family, 
having been brought up from infancy in the 
home of the late Alexander Vining. In p(di- 
tics he affiliates with the Democrat party, and 
takes an intelligent interest in town affairs. 
He is industrious and progressive, and is 
highly esteemed personally by the community. 
The degree of success he has attained is 
wholly attributable to his own efforts. 



7TAHARLES E. MORSE, M.D., a ris- 
C V'^ ing young physician of Plymouth 

V,2__^ County, with an extensive and in- 
creasing practice in the town of Wareham, 
was born January i, 1867, in the village of 
which he is now an honored resident. The 
Doctor is the only son of a family of five chil- 
dren born to Seth C. and Mary (Swift) Morse, 
both of whom were natives of Wareham. 

Charles V.. Morse was reared on the parental 
farm, and in the district schools acquireil the 
rudiments of his excellent education. At the 
age of fifteen years he went to Quincy, Mass., 
as a pupil at Adams Academy, from which he 
received his di])loma three years later. He 
subsequently took a full course of study at the 
Harvard Medical School, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1889, with a good record for scholar- 
ship. The .succeeding three years Dr. Morse 
was assistant superintendent of the Adams 
Nervine Asylum, a noted curative institution, 
beautifully located in the Jamaica Plain dis- 
trict of Boston. He next engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine in Boston a year and a half, 



300 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and then he returned to Wareham to take up 
the practice of the late Dr. Sawyer, who died 
in 1S93. Here Dr. Morse has met with signal 
success in his professional career, exhibiting 
great knowledge and skill in the treatment of 
his many patients, winning the confidence and 
good will of all with whom he is brought in 
contact. 

Dr. Morse was married January 26, 1895, to 
Miss Abbie F. Marshall, a native of Lowell, 
Mass., a daughter of Isaac F. and Eliza J. (Le 
Favour) Marshall, of South Framingham. 
Politically, the Doctor is identified with the 
Republican party, and is a member of the 
Wareham Board of Health. Fraternally, he 
is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, belonging to 
Eliot Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Boston; and 
to Ouinobequin Lodge, No. 70, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, of Boston. He is 
likewise a member of the Massachusetts Medi- 
cal Society and of the Boston Library Asso- 
ciation. He was appointed August 18, 1896, 
by then Acting Governor Roger Wolcott, 
Medical E.xaminer for Plymouth County. 




1<:NNIE C. LEONARD, a bicycle 
manufacturer of Brockton, and the 
originator of the Brockton Bicycle, 
also known as the Meteor, was born in Easton, 
Mass., January 16, 1861, his parents being 
Otis and Mary Ann (Bryant) Leonard, now of 
Brockton. Some of his ancestors served in 
the Revolutionary War. His grandfather, 
Hathaway Leonard, was a farmer, and owned 
a number of different farms. He also did a 
wheelwright business for a time, having 
natural mechanical ability. Although a man 
of large influence, on account of being deaf 
he would accept no public office. Mrs. Otis 
Leonard was before marriage a Miss Bryant, 
of North Raynham, Mass. She and her hus- 



band are the parents of several children; 
namely, Peleg, Angle, Russell, William, 
Bennie, Nellie Emery, Maria, and Charles. 

Bennie C. Leonard was the fifth child. 
After leaving school, he served a three years' 
apprenticeship with T. H. & J. O. Dean, of 
Easton, at the machinist's trade, and two years 
with Sweetser & Merritt. He then .secured 
a position in the employ of the Tuck Manu- 
facturing Company as tool -maker, and was with 
them for three years, leaving then to take 
charge of a line of work for Kimball Brothers. 
Several years later, in 1888, Mr. Leonard 
started in business for himself, beginning in a 
work-room in the basement of his house — in 
the machine repairing business, which grad- 
ually resolved itself into the bicycle business. 
He was soon obliged to seek larger accommo- 
dations, and removed to a room on Centre 
Street, and finally, about 1890, came to his 
present quarters at 34 Franklin Street. Up 
to 1892 he did only repairing, but his work in 
this line suggested many changes in construc- 
tion; and the result was the introduction, in 
1892, of the fine wheel known as the Brockton, 
or Meteor, which has appeared each succeed- 
ing year with added improvements. Mr. 
Leonard has also placed on the market a 
bicycle handle bar, which was patented by 
him June 2, 1896, and the Brockton cycle 
stand, an arrangement for holding bicycles, 
intended for use by wholesale and retail 
dealers, of which he has sold hundreds during 
the past year. Nine men are employed in his 
factory. 

In 1882 Mr. Leonard married Miss Lucy F. 
Manley, daughter of Nathaniel Manley, of 
Brockton, and a direct descendant of Governor 
William Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. 
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard have four children; 
namely, Merle C. , Vera M., Elva A., and 
Vernie L. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



30« 



In ]io]itical affiliation Mr. Leonanl is a 
stanch Rcpiililican. He is a member of Miec- 
tric Lodge, No. 204, Inclepenclent Oriler of 
Olid I'ellows; the Knights of the ICssenic 
Order, Lotige No. 125; and the Uniform 
Ivank, l^rockton Division, No. 11, Knight.s of 
I'ythias; Shoe City Wheelmen; and the 
League of American Workmen. lie and Mrs. 
Leonard are communicants of the Porter Con- 
gregational Church. 




■1':NRY T. HAMMOND, who is en- 
gaged in general farming and cran- 
L^ V ^ ])erry culture in Carver, was born 
in this town, January 25, 1834, son of lienja- 
niin and Mary (Sherman) Hammond, and a 
grandson of Benjamin Hammond, Sr. His 
father was born in Carver, and spent his whole 
life here, being engaged during the active 
years of his life in farming. Benjamin Ham- 
mond, Jr., lived to be eighty-four years of age. 
His wife is still living, at the age of eighty-si.\. 
He was a communicant of the Second Advent 
church. They had eight children, named 
respectively as follows: Mary A. ; Henry T. ; 
Susan A. ; Maria T. ; Lucy; Sarah A. ; Julia 
A. ; and Cordelia, who died when si.\- years old. 
Henry T. Hammond sjient his boyhood in 
this town. He lived with liis parents until 
he was twenty-one years old, when he engaged 
in the fishing business, which he followed for 
seventeen summers, making trips principally 
to the Grand Banks; and the last two seasons 
he was master of the vessel with which he 
sailed. Subsequently retiring from the sea, 
he spent fourteen years in the saw-mill busi- 
ness. Since that time he has given especial 
attention to the raising of cranberries, also 
engaging in general farming. He owns in all 
about one hundred and tlfty acres of land, and 
has two acres set with cranberries. On 



March 31, 1858, Mr. Hamniond was united in 
marriage with Miss Bet.scy S. Shaw, a native 
of this town. They have had four children: 
Walter F., residing in Lakeville; Mary S. 
and Arthur L., both deceased; and Arnold L., 
who resides in North Carver. Frfim 1890 to 
1894 Mr. Hammond served as Road Commis- 
sioner, and he had previously been Road Sur- 
veyor for one year. He has also served as 
Fire Warden eight years. In politics he is a 
Rei)ublican, and religiously he is a member 
of the .Second Advent church. 




p^liRNARD C. BEAL, a well-known 
^^S and highly respected resident of 
Hanson, was born in this town on 
May 6, 1833. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and at the age of fifteen began 
to earn his own livelihood. He first learned 
the shoemaker's trade, to which he applied 
himself diligently for over twelve years. He 
subsequently learned the trade of carpenter 
and builder, which he followed for a cpiarter 
of a century. In September, 1862, under a 
patriotic impulse, he enlisted for nine months 
in Company A, Third Regiment Massachusetts 
Volunteer Infantry; and during his term of 
service he performed his duty as a soldier. 
In politics Mr. Bcal is a consistent member of 
the Republican party. He has held the offices 
of Selectman, Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, 
and Constable for a number of years, and was 
Collector of Ta.xes one year. He served as 
Moderator at thirt\-three town meetings, and 
was Chairman at thirteen State elections. 
From 1880 to 1891 he was Selectman, receiv- 
ing in 18S7 seventy-two out of seventy-four 
votes. In 1894 and 1895 he was re-elected to 
the same office. Fraternally, Mr. Beal is a 
member of the Grand Army Post, T. L. Bon- 
ney, No. 127, in which organization he has 



302 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



officiated as Quartermaster for twenty-three 
years. He attends the Congregational church. 



TT^APTAIN JAMES H. DAWES, of 

I Vp Kingston, Mass., has seen much of 
V i? ^ the world, having circumnavigated 
the globe several times, and having lived the 
adventurous life of a California miner in 1849. 
He was born in Du.xbury, Mass., July 20, 
1826, a son of Abraham and Deborah (Dar- 
ling) Dawes. 

Members of the Dawes family were early 
settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 
though not, so far as known, among the first 
comers. A William Dawes, a bricklayer by 
trade, was living in Boston in 1646. He had 
three sons — Ambrose, William, and Robert. 
It was a William Dawes of a later generation 
who joined Paul Revere at Lexington during 
his memorable ride to arouse the minute-men, 
and, when Revere was taken by the British and 
carried back to Boston, proceeded with Sam- 
uel Prescott to Concord, arousing the patriots 
on the way. 

Captain James H. Dawes's great-grand- 
father, Ambrose, of Duxbury, and his grand- 
father, Ebenezer Dawes, were well-known 
citizens of this part of the State. His father, 
Abraham Dawes, who was born in Kingston, 
Mass., was a seafaring man, engaged in the 
coasting trade a great many years. He died 
April 12, 1868. His wife was born in the 
old town of Duxbury. She died November 4, 
1859. Of their children the two now living 
are: Captain Josephus Dawes, in Duxbury, 
Mass. ; and James H., in Kingston. The 
others, who have passed away, were: Captain 
Allen A. Dawes and a sister Harriet. 

James H. Dawes was reared and educated in 
Duxbury. He went to sea at the early age 
of fourteen, and within six years had risen 



through the different degrees of rank to the 
responsiiile position of captain. At the age 
of twenty he commanded the brig "Balize, " 
owned by Joseph Holmes, of Kingston, Mass., 
for whom he subsequently commanded a num- 
ber of vessels in the coasting and foreign 
trade. He was in Mr. Holmes's employ for 
a number of years, his term of service being 
interrupted by a season in California. In 
1849, his ship being in port in Boston, he 
decided to join a party bound for the gold 
fields, and went by sailing vessel to the Isth- 
mus of Panama, which he crossed on foot, 
taking a steamer on the other side for San 
Francisco. Four years of roughing it among 
the mining camps were sufficient for Captain 
Dawes; and in 1853 he returned to his native 
State, taking the route by which he had set 
out. Again assuming charge of a vessel, he 
was in the foreign trade for some time; and he 
was afterward engaged in superintending the 
building of ships at East Boston for himself 
and others. Not content to leave the sea alto- 
gether, however, he subsequently sailed to 
foreign ports as commander of different ves- 
sels, his own and those of other ship-owners, 
until 1 88 1, when he retired to his home in 
Kingston. Captain Dawes might write a very 
interesting book on the countries he has 
visited and the sights he has seen. He has 
sailed in nearly every oceanic body of water on 
the globe, and several times has doubled the 
southern extremities of the continents, the 
Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn ; and he 
has an inexhaustible store of anecdote. The 
captain is a Trustee of the Boston Marine 
Association, office in the Chamber of Com- 
merce, Boston. 

He has been twice married. His first wife, 
who was Abbie D. Chandler, of Vermont, left 
two children — John C. and F^lora L. The 
latter is the wife of George D. Bartlett, of 




JAMES H. DAWES. 



1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



305 



I'lytiiiiiitli, Mass. His second wife, tri wiioiii 
lie was united on June 25, 1857, was Mrs. 
I.ydia J. (Sampson) Ikadfoid, daugiiter of 
Rufus and Sally (Gibbs) Sampson, of Dux- 
bury, Mass., and widow of Samuel Brad- 
ford, of that town. By her first marriage she 
had three children, of whom she has been 
bereft; and she bore Captain Dawes one 
daughter, Laura M. On many of Captain 
Dawes's voyages his wife accompanied him. 
The captain votes the Republican ticket. 
He is a charter member of Corner .Stone 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Duxbury, and is 
very jiopular in the community in which he 
lives, he and his family taking an active part 
in all social events of importance. The cap- 
tain and his wife are attendants at the Uni- 
tarian church. 



B 



R. GEORGE F. MORSE, a popular 
and successful physician of Carver, 
was born May i, NS40, at Middle- 
boro, this county, son of Ira and Betsy (Red- 
ding) Morse. He represents one of the oldest 
families in the country, being a descendant of 
William Morse, who was a passenger on tiic 
"Mayflower.'' Those of the Morse family 
directly descended from William Morse have 
resiiled in this general section of the States. 
The great-grandfather of Dr. Morse, also 
named William Morse, was a farmer of Mid- 
dleboro; and his paternal grandfather, Jona- 
than, followed the same occupation in Carver. 
Ira, a son of Jonathan, and a native of Carver, 
was engaged in general farming at Middle- 
boro. His wife, Betsy, was a daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. Zaccheus Redding, esteemed farming 
people of Taunton, Mass. Of Ira's seven 
children, two still survive. He passed away 
March 30, 1856, in his fiftieth year, and his 
wife on October 17, 1863. 

Dr. Morse acquired his early education in 



the common schools. In Carver, at the age of 
sixteen, he began working at the shoemaker's 
trade, and thereafter followed it until his 
twenty-sixth year. Having prosecuted a 
course of reading in medicine in the mean 
while, he then devoted himself exclusively to 
the study in the office of Dr. George I*". 
Wood, of Plymouth. Here he s|)cnt three 
years, during which he often came into con- 
tact with honueo[)athic physicians. At the 
termination of that period he established him- 
self in his profession at Carver, where he has 
practised very successfully for eighteen years, 
giving his entire time and attention to his 
chosen calling. The last winter was the 
busiest season that he has experienced in his 
entire career. 

On March 15, 1870, Dr. Morse married 
Mrs. Lucinda Maxim, a daughter of James and 
Ruth Dunham, to whom she was born at 
Carver, January 31, 1839. Dr. Morse takes 
an earnest interest in the town, and is an 
active promoter of its social and civic welfare. 
In his political views he is identified with the 
Republican party. 



/^^TeORGE B. SANFORD, of Lakeville, 
\ (^ I a veteran of the Civil War, was born 
May 23, 1827, in Haverhill, Essex 
County, son of Fitz William and Lucy San- 
ford. He received his early education in 
Haverhill, where lie lived until twelve years 
of age. Then, after spending a year in New 
Salem, N. H., he went to Groveland, Mass., 
and there learned the trade of tanning and 
currying. After working as a tanner some 
three years, he learned boot-making, which he 
followed at intervals in different places for 
thirteen years. He made shoes in Atkinson, 
N.H., for two years; and for a number of 
years following he was engaged in the same 



3o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



line in Stoneham, Mass. His next place of 
residence was Aubnrn, N.H., where he was 
engaged in farming until President Lincoln's 
call for volunteers induced him to join the 
army. 

Enlisting August 8, 1862, in Company A, 
Tenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, 
Mr. Sanford was mustered in as a private at 
Manchester, N. H. He was first under the 
rebel fire at Fredericksburg, out of which he 
came without a wound. Subsequently he 
passed safely through the siege of Suffolk, 
which lasted twenty-three days. Assigned 
then to the engineer corps, he went to Ports- 
mouth, Va., where he was engaged for a year 
in work on the fortifications. After this he 
rejoined his regiment at Yorktown, and par- 
ticipated in the engagements of Drury's Bluff 
and Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, and 
the action at Chapin's farm. In the latter 
he was wounded in the right wrist by a piece 
of a shell, and was subsequently under the 
care of doctors and nurses for six or seven 
months. In this period he was in the field 
hospital, in the City Point Hospital at City 
Point, Va., the hospital at Hampton, and the 
Webster Hospital at Manchester, N.H. By 
a telegram received May 18, 1865, he was dis- 
charged from military service; and for two 
years thereafter he was able to perform little 
work of any kind, as he was obliged to carry 
his right arm in a sling. He lived in 
Auburn, N.H., until 1869, when he moved to 
Manchester, and engaged in farming for a 
while. At a later date he received an 
appointment as night watchman, and subse- 
quently followed that calling in Manchester 
for eight years. In 1880 he moved to Lake- 
ville, where he has since been engaged in 
farming and poultry raising. Mr. Sanford 
votes the Republican ticket. He keeps up his 
connection with his comrades of the war as a 



member of Post No. 3, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of Manchester, N.H., and is a promi- 
nent member of the Royal Arcanum. 



^ClDWARD I. BROWN, of Rockland, 
Jpl Mass., manufacturer of Goodyear welts, 
is a self-made man who has climbed 
from the bottom to a high round of the ladder 
of success. A son of George F. and Sarah M. 
(Nerburt) Brown, of Nantucket, he was born 
on that island, January i 7, i 860. 

George F. Brown, the father, sailed from 
Nantucket on a whaling vessel in 1849 ^or 
California, doubling Cape Horn, and making 
a long tedious journey. His brother, who 
accompanied him, died in 1895, leaving a fort- 
une of a million and a half; but he himself 
was not so favored. He served in the Union 
army throughout the Civil War, receiving a 
serious wound, and, after peace was declared, 
returned to California, where he died at the 
age of forty-one. His death seemed the more 
untimel)' from the fact that the Browns are a 
long-lived family, many nearly attaining the 
century mark. Mrs. Sarah Nerburt Brown is 
now living in Nantucket. She has reared 
three children — Mary M., Elliott M., and 
Edward I. 

Edward I. Brown was given scant educa- 
tional opportunities, being obliged to go to 
work at the early age of nine years. He was 
first employed on a farm at Newton Upper 
Falls, and subsequently in a cotton-mill in 
Rhode Island two years, later in Vineyard 
Haven, where he served a three years' appren- 
ticeship to the harness-making trade, in Marl- 
boro, Mass., one year, and in Boston one year. 
On his removal to Rockland he worked at 
harness-making, and afterward for six months 
engaged in stitching and sewing on welts in 
a shoe shop in Rockland. Being naturally 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3°7 



somcthiiij; of an inventive genius, he patented 
a thread for shoe sewing-machines, which has 
been of great value to the trade. After spend- 
ing some time as a travelling salesman for 
J. R. Lecson & Co., of Boston, he returned to 
the shop; and some time later he started his 
present business, in which he has been very 
successful. Mr. Brown manages the welt fac- 
tory, and at the same time he sells his own 
goods on the road. Some idea of his business 
ability may be gained from the fact that his 
sales last year amounted to over one hundred 
and fifty-three thousand dollars. He has 
never felt the lack of educational training; for 
he has the natural gift of adapting himself to 
circumstances, and by observation and experi- 
ence he has qualified himself as a business 
man, learning by practice alone without 
studying theory. Having travelled exten- 
sively, he has a broad knowledge of men and 
affairs. He is well informed on all matters 
of current interest, and is a self-made man in 
more than a business sense. 

Mr. Brown was married November 23, 1881, 
to Alice G. Baker, of Rockland, and has been 
blessed with four children: Carroll Winslow, 
aged fourteen; Esther Lyle (deceased); and 
Chester Nerburt and Bessie Linwood, aged re- 
spectively ten and seven years. He has a 
pleasant home at 26 Vernon Street. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. He belongs to three 
social organizations — the Sons of Veterans, 
the Narragansett Boot and Shoe Club, and the 
Norfolk Club of Boston. 



KUCIUS H. D0TP:N, until recently the 
foreman of the granite yards of Rox- 
^^' bury, Conn., was born in Plymouth, 
this county, May 10, 1832, son of Josei)h and 
Jerusha (Bartlett) Doten. The family de- 
scends from colonists who came in the ".May- 



flower." Joseph Doten, who was born near 
the birthplace of his son, the subject of this 
article, made his home in Plymouth County 
until 1851, when he migrated to California 
by the isthmus route. He died in California 
a few months after his arrival. His wife, 
Jerusha, who was a native of Manomet, and a 
daughter of George and Sylvina Bartlett, bore 
him six children, namely: Josejjh M., who 
now resides on Water Street; Frances B., who 
died in 1894 in California, whither she went 
in 1850; William W., who passed away in 
1856; Lucius H., the subject of this article; 
Abbie M., who died in 1855; and Andrew J., 
whose death happened in California in 1854. 
The mother died in 1840. 

Lucius H. Doten passed his boyhood on the 
paternal farm. At the age of eight years he 
was left motherless. In his seventeenth year he 
started out for himself by engaging in fishing, 
which calling he followed during the seven 
successive summers. He then served an ap- 
prenticeship of one year in Quincy, Mass., at 
granite-cutting, and afterward followed that 
trade in different cities throughout the Eastern 
States. In 1884 he received the appointment 
as foreman of the granite yards at Roxbury, 
Conn., in which capacity he served efficiently 
until February, 1896. He is now engaged in 
trout raising at Plymouth. 

On November 12, 1862, Mr. Doten married 
Miss Mary A. Holmes, who was born in 
Plymouth, daughter of (ialen R. and Juline E. 
(Valler) Holmes. Mr. Doten and his wife 
became the parents of four children, namely: 
Frank W., born October 20, 1864, who died 
on November 21, 1864; Lucia N., born March 
6, 1868; Abbie A., born July iS, 1870; and 
Charles R., born August 15, 1873. Lucia 
became the wife of Nathaniel F. Hoxie, a 
native of Plymouth, to whom she bore three 
children, namely: Fanny A., born January 



3°8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1 8, 1888; Mary F. , born February 2, 1S92; 
and Lucius II., now deceased. Abbie became 
Mrs. George J. Sampson, and has a son, 
William S., who was born November i, 1893. 
Mrs. Doten passed away April 12, 1890. Mr. 
Doten is a Mason of Plymouth Lodge. In 
politics he supports the Republican party. 
His religious principles are those of a free 
thinker. He has always made historic Plym- 
outh his home, and he has resided on his 
present estate for thirty-four years. 




LONZO GUSHING, a well-known 
business man of Hingham, and a 
Director of the Savings Bank, is a 
native of the town. He was born on Decem- 
ber 15, 1827, son of David and Mary S. (Lap- 
ham) Gushing, and is a representative of the 
eighth generation in descent from Matthew 
Gushing, a native of Old England, who 
settled in Hingham, Mass., in 1638. He 
mingled prominently in town affairs, and also 
officiated as Deacon of the church. His wife, 
whose maiden name was Nazareth Pitcher, 
was a daughter of Henry Pitcher. They were 
married in 1613, and had five children, of 
whom Daniel was the eldest child. He was 
born in Hingham, England, in 1619, and was 
twice married, his first wife being Lydia Gil- 
man, a native of England, by whom he had 
six children. By his second marriage with 
PZlizabeth (Jacob) Tha.xter, of England, there 
were no children. 

Theophilus, the fifth child of David and 
Lydia (Gilman) Gushing, was born in 1657. 
He married Mary Thaxter, of Hingham; and 
eleven children were the fruit of their union. 
Abel, the fifth child, was born in Hingham in 
1696. He was a farmer and miller, and 
served as Selectman for many years. He mar- 
ried Mary Jacob, of Hingham, and was the 



father of ten children, the third a son, David. 
He was born here in 1727, was twice married, 
and by his first wife, Ruth Lincoln, had five 
children. By his second marriage with Mabel 
Gardner there were twelve children, Charles 
W. Gushing being the third child, and the 
grandfather of the subject of this biography. 

He was born in Hingham in 1766, became 
a sailor, and eventually a sea captain, but sub- 
sequently settled on a farm in South Hingham. 
He married Deborah R. Jacob, of South Scitu- 
ate, Mass. ; and they had eleven children. 
David, their fourth child, was born in Hing- 
ham on October 2, 1801, and carried on farm- 
ing all his life. He married Mary S. Lap- 
ham; and they had eleven children, eight of 
whom are now living — David, Alonzo, 
Michael L., Otis, Sidney, George, P"erdinand, 
and Isabella. 

David Gushing, the eldest son, married 
Mary J. Sherman, and by this union had five 
children, one of whom is now living, Marshall 
Henry. Michael L. married Josephine Kim- 
ball, of South Scituate; and they had nine 
children, seven of whom are now living — 
Herbert K., Minnie J., Susie J., Gharles E., 
Jessie L., Bertram, and Nellie F. Otis mar- 
ried Caroline F. Hersey, of Hingham, and 
became the father of five children, four of 
whom are now living — Flora G., Anna ¥., 
Abbie R., and Lewis H. Sidney married 
Sarah E. Gorbett, of this town ; and they were 
the parents of two children — Albert L. and 
Waldo. George married Deborah E. Gushing, 
daughter of John Gushing (a- descendant of 
Matthew by a different line) ; and they had 
two children — Wallace G. and Ralph E. 
David Gushing, the father, was a Democrat 
in politics and a Universalist in his religious 
belief. He died at the age of eighty-si.v, and 
his wife passed away at the age of eighty years. 

Alonzo Gushing, the second son of David, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



309 



after completing his education in the schools 
of liis native town, went to Boston to learn 
the carpenter's trade, and remained there 
five years. Returning to Hingham, he con- 
tinued til follow his trade until 1 .STjo, when 
he opened a general merchamiise store, utiliz- 
ing his carpenter shop for that purpose for 
twenty-nine years thereafter. Many fine resi- 
dences here bear witness to his ability as a 
builder. Later Mr. Gushing became identified 
with the Hingham Insurance Company, which 
he has served as Director for twenty years, 
during the last five of which he has also offici- 
ated as adjuster. He has also been a Director 
of the Hingham Savings Bank since 1891. 
In ]iiilitics he affiliates with the Republican 
party. Fraternally, he belongs to Old Colony 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Hingham. 

On January 15, 1852, he was united in 
marriage with Martha A. Cushing, daughter 
of Loring and Martha (Hersey) Cushing, of 
Hingham. By this union there are two chil- 
dren : Alonzo F., born November 29, 1857; 
and Lizzie H., who was born on July 1 1, i860. 
Mr. Cushing is a man of estimable qualities 
and a prominent citizen. He built his present 
residence in 1S51. In their religious belief 
Mr. and Mrs. Cushing are Unitarians. 




0RJ:.ST WILLIAM SWIFT, a mem- 
ber of the well-known firm I-xlgar & 
Co., of Brockton, was born in Ware- 
ham, Mass., in 1865, son of James R. and 
Lydia C. (Burgess) Swift. James R. Swift, 
who was mate of a ship, for the last three 
years of his life kept a grocery store in Ware- 
ham, Mass. In 1852 he was united in mar- 
riage with Lydia C. , daughter of Covil and 
Lorena Burgess, of Sandwich, Mass. They 
had two sons: Edgar Francis, who is em- 
[iloyed in a shoe shop; and Forest William 



the subject of this sketch. The father died 
in 1866. Five years later the mother married 
Asahel Southworth, of Stoughton, Mass. 

After acquiring his education in the com- 
mon and high schools of Stoughton, Forest 
William Swift attended the Bryant & Stratton 
Commercial College in Boston. In 1881 he 
entered the employ of Edgar & Co. as clerk. 
Subsequently he was put in charge of their 
hosiery and underwear department, which 
position he filled for ten years. On February 
I, 1895, he was admitted to the firm as part- 
ner. In politics Mr. Swift is a Republican. 
He belongs to Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M. ; Satucket Royal Arch Chapter; Bay 
State Commandery, Knights Templars; and 
Aleppo Shrine of Boston. He is also a mem- 
ber of Harmony Lodge, Knights of Pythias, 
and of Massasoit Lodge, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows. In 1886 he was married to 
Nellie, daughter of George and Sarah Faulk- 
ner, of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Swift have 
two children : William Arnold, aged five; and 
Miriam Burgess, who is seven. 




(^TY-''''^"^'^'' SOUTHWORTH, a former 
resident and manufacturer of Stough- 
ton, Mass., was born there in 1813, 
son of Consider, also a native of that town, 
and a manufacturer of spool cotton and cotton 
yarn. He, who was familiarly known as 
"Colonel Southworth," resided in Stoughton 
all his life. Besides Asahel he had four other 
children — Lyman, Jedediah, Amasa, and Al- 
mira. Asahel, the eldest child, attended the 
common schools of Stoughton, and then sewed 
cotton in his father's mill. Subsequently he 
became a manufacturer of woollen yarn in 
West Stoughton, where he carried on the in- 
dustry for several years. In politics he was 
a Republican. He was affiliated with the 



310 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



liKlcpendent Order of Odd I''ello\vs. In his 
religious opinions lie was a liberal, and he 
attended the Universalist church. Mr. South- 
worth was twice married, the first time to 
Louisa Kinsley, who had four children. 
These were: Consider (deceased), Consider 
(second), Mary Anna, and Hattie. His sec- 
ond marriage was contracted in 1871 with 
Lydia C. (Burgess) Swift, as already stated. 
Mr. South worth died in 1S79. ]5y the second 
marriage there was one child — Elmer Kins- 
ley, who resides in Lynn, Mass. 




jDWARD G. KNIGHT, a well-known 
carpenter and builder, the only con- 
tractor in Hull, Plymouth County, 
Mass., was born in Troy, N.H., November 7, 
1840, son of Martin and Bitha B. (Gould) 
Knight. His paternal grandfather, Klbridge 
Knight, was a farmer and miller who lived to 
a good old age. He and his wife, Betsy 
Knight, had fourteen children. 

Martin was the third son of his parents. 
He was born in Sudbury, Mass. ; and, after 
acquiring his education, he became a teacher 
in Troy, N. H. He subsequently removed to 
Hull, where he was engaged in teaching for 
a year, and where he bought a farm and estab- 
lished his home. He officiated as a member 
of the School Committee for several years. 
On April 16, 1S37, he was married to Bitha 
B. Gould, daughter of John and Bitha (Bin- 
ney) Gould, of Hingham, Mass. By this 
alliance there were five children: Albert L., 
born December i, 1838; Edward G. ; Eliza J., 
born January 29, 1843; Charles H., born 
February 19, 1845; and Winthrop, who was 
born June 29, 1851. The father and mother 
were both highly respected members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Martin Knight 
died on January 8, 1894. 



Edward G. Knight at the early age of two 
years removed with his parents to Hull, and 
there acquired his education. Having a nat- 
ural aptitude for mechanics, he learned the 
carpenter's trade without serving an appren- 
ticeship, and at the age of twenty-two bought 
a chest of tools and started in business. His 
first contract was for a four-hundred-dollar 
house, which is still standing. For fifteen 
years he was the only carpenter in town, and 
he is now the only contractor. He has contin- 
ued building with gratifying success for 
thirty-four years, and among the many fine 
residences erected here by him is the one 
that was owned by the late John Boyle 
O'Reilly. Mr. Knight has also built many 
sail-boats, and now has many contracts to 
build houses. In 1872 he established 
Knight's E.xpress between Hull and Boston, 
which he continued until the spring of 1895, 
when he sold out. 

In politics Mr. Knight is a Prohibitionist. 
In the year 1892 he cast the only vote in the 
town on that ticket, but in 1895 there were 
twenty-three Prohibition votes in Hull. Offi- 
cially, Mr. Knight has been prominent, having 
been Town Treasurer for twenty-four consecu- 
tive years. Overseer of the Poor and Selectman 
for nineteen years, Assessor and Constable for 
several years, also Highway Surveyor, and 
from 1 861 to 1887, with the exception of three 
years. Collector of Taxes. In 1894 he was 
nominated on the Prohibition ticket as Repre- 
sentative, and had a plurality in his own town, 
which speaks well for his popularity here. 
He was, however, defeated at that time. 
Fraternally, he is identified with Old Colony 
Lodge, No. 108, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Hingham, and the Rising Star 
Division, Sons of Temperance. 

On December 8, 1868, Mr. Knight was 
married to Miss Elizabeth A. R. Adams, 



I 





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EDWARD G. KNIGHT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3*3 



a native of Royalton, Vt. They have two 
children — Grace W. and Ailiert K. Grace 
W. Knight married Francis Ilaseltine, Princi- 
pal of the Whiting School, Lynn, Mass., and 
they have one child, Ruth Haseltine. Albert 
K. Knight married Lizzie Follanshee, of Prov- 
idence, R. I. ; and they have one son, Harold. 
In religions belief .Mr. Knight i.s a Methodist, 
having been converted to that faith in January, 
1887. I'-Qr two years he officiated as Superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school, and he is now a 
devoted Christian and church member. 




^^VLVANUS HOURNK, a highly es- 
teemed citizen of Halifa.v, was born 
in this town, April 4, 1839. His 
parents were Abram and Mary A. (Harlow) 
Bourne, both natives of Halifax. 'I'hey had 
eight children — William, Sylvanus, Daniel 
W. , Mary W. , Francis, Eliza, Eunice, and 
Hittie. Sylvanus, who was their second son, 
was educated in the common schools. On 
reaching the age of nineteen years, he went to 
California; but, finding no better chance to 
make money there than at home, he returned 
the same year. Choosing the occupation of a 
farmer, he began actively to till the soil, and 
also engaged quite largely in charcoal burning. 
With the exception of six years spent in 
Hridgewater and the short jieriod in Califor- 
nia, he has resided since birth in Halifax, 
where he owns and conducts a farm of about 
seventy acres. At the breaking out of the 
Civil War he resiionded to the first call for 
militia, and serveil three months, during 
which he was at P'ortress Monroe and Hamp- 
ton, and took part in the expedition to Nor- 
folk, Va. Mr. Bourne has served six years as 
Selectman of the town. He belongs to Post 
124, Grand .Army of the Republic, of P'ast 
Pridgewater, and also to the Association of 



Minute-men of Mas.sachusetts. In i860 Mr. 
Bourne married Miss Emily P. Wade, by 
whom he has two children — Abram and Aus- 
tin F. , both of whom reside in Bridgewater, 
Mass. 




ILAS P. ASHLEY, a respected citi- 
zen and farmer of Lakeville, Plym- 
outh County, Mass., was born in 
this town, April 4, 181 3, son of Noah and 
Ruth (Pickens) Ashley. His paternal grand- 
father also bore the name of Noah. Noah 
Ashley (second), and his wife, Ruth, became 
the parents of a large family of children; 
namely, Jephthah, Silas P., Noah, Abiel W., 
Susan P., Elizabeth M., Earl S., Sarah, Jose- 
phus P., Levi L., and Abbie, all of whom are 
still living, with the exception of Abiel. 

Silas P. Ashley, who w\as the second-born 
child of his parents, was educated in the dis- 
trict schools. He remained beneath the 
parental roof until his twenty-fifth year, when 
he began life for himself, turning his atten- 
tion to agriculture as his main occujiation. 
His present farm, which consists of about 
sixty acres, has been his home since 1844, and 
is endeared to him by many associations of his 
younger days. In addition to farming he has 
also dealt to some extent in wood and lumber. 
In 1S35 Mr. Ashley wedded Miss Phcebe E. 
Davis, of Tiverton, R.I. Seven children 
were born to them, and were iiameil respec- 
tively Phcebe J., Mary B., Clementina L., 
Noah, Isaiah, Silas Ivlmund, and Abiel 
Davis, of whom Noah and Isaiah have passed 
away. His first wife dying, Mr. Ashley con- 
tracted a second marriage in 1857, Miss 
Almira F. Dean, a native of Taunton, iiecom- 
ing his wife. Mr. Ashley is a Republican in 
politics, having been a Whig in the days of 
that earlier party. He has lived to see many 
political and other changes during his four- 



314 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



score and three years of experience, and he 
has always been numbered among the reliable 
and trustworthy citizens of his town. 




AHUM A. BATTLES, a well-to-do 
farmer of Brockton, Mass., was born 

^ X^ ^ on September i6, 1835, in what 
was then North Bridgewater, his parents be- 
ing Nahum and Mary (Brett) Battles. He is 
a descendant of one of the founders of the 
town, as shown by the following taken from 
Mitchell's History of Bridgewater. 

John Battles (from Plymouth) settled in 
Stoughton Corner, within the North Parish, 
of Bridgewater, and married Hannah, daughter 
of Edward Curtis, and had John, Jonathan, 
Samuel, Asa, Uriah, Edward, Curtis, Han- 
nah, Rebecca, and Susanna. Hannah married 
a Jordan, Rebecca married a Billings, Susanna 
married a Eord. Jonathan married Hannah, 
daughter of Joseph Porter, and settled in 
Stoughton. Edward and Curtis went to Ver- 
mont. Susanna Battles married Benjamin 
Wa.shburn in 1742. 

Samuel Battles, the third son of John, 
settled in North Bridgewater, and married 
Dorothy, daughter of Christopher Dyer, in 
17S6, and had: Sybil, born 1786; Lucinda, 
born 1788; Daniel Dyer, born 1790; David 
H., born 1792; Dorothy, born 1796; Samuel, 
burn 1798; Jason Dyer, born 1800; Nahum, 
born 1S02; Mary Dyer, born 1806; Anson, 
born 1 8 10; Mary Dyer, second, born 1S14. 
Sybil married Ruel Fobes in 1806, Lucinda 
married Captain Luke Packard in 1806, David 
married Jerusha Adams in 1816, Dorothy 
married Ansel Perkins in 1819, Jason D. re- 
moved to Boston. 

Asa Battles, fourth son of John, also settled 
in North Bridgewater. He married Mary, 
daughter of John Pratt, and by this union had 



nine children. Samuel Battles, grandfather 
of Nahum A., the special subject of this 
sketch, was appointed First Lieutenant of 
militia by Samuel Adams, then Governor of 
Massachusetts, August 14, 1794. 

Nahum Battles, the father of Nahum A., 
was born on what is now Battles Street, Brock- 
ton, which derived its name from the family. 
He was a mason by trade, and resided here all 
his life. Both he and his wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary I3rett, to whom he was married 
on March 30, 1826, are now deceased. 

They had four children, three sons and one 
daughter. Hiratn, who was a mason by trade, 
is deceased; Joseph is a night watchman for 
the Herbert & Rapp Hub Goring Company; 
and Mary died July 3, 1867. Born on the old 
homestead where he now resides, Nahum A. 
Battles, the youngest-born of the three sons, 
received his education in the common schools 
of North Bridgewater. During his father's 
lifetime he assisted in the work of the farm, 
of which he afterward became the owner; and 
he is still actively engaged in its management. 

For several years he was a regular attendant 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. 
Battles is a cheery, benevolent gentleman, and 
highly respected by a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. 




APTAIN S. NELSON HOWARD, 
of West Bridgewater, belongs to the 
si.xth generation of the Howards 
who haye resided on the farm which is now his 
home. He was born here, March 14, 18 13, 
son of Lloyd and Abigail (Snell) Howard, 
both of whom were also natives of this place. 
Jesse Howard, the father of Lloyd, was a son 
of Seth. A more complete account of the 
family ancestry appears in the sketch of Fran- 
cis E. Howard. Lloyd Howard, who was a 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



3'S 



farmer by occupation, cliotl in 1838. He was 
a cousin of the father of General Oliver Otis 
Howard, the hero of Cemetery Ridge at the 
battle of Gettysburg. General Howard's 
grandfatiier was born on the old homestead. 

S. Nelson 1 loward grew to manhood on the 
ancestral farm, receiving a common-school 
education, ami for a brief time attending the 
Hridgewater Academy. Shortly after reach- 
ing his majority, he went to Randolph, Mass., 
and for several years was profitably engaged 
in keeping a public house. Me was Post- 
master of Randolph for six years of the ten 
spent there. Me then returned to the old 
homestead, vvhicli has been his home ever 
since. The farm contains about one hundred 
acres of well-improved land. 

In 1833 Captain Howard married Miss Mary 
A. Dunbar, who was born in West Bridge- 
water, daughter of Samuel Dunbar. Her 
father, now deceased, was an inriuential citizen 
of this town, which he served as a Representa- 
tive in the Massachusetts legislature. Of the 
nine children born to Captain and Mrs. How- 
ard, si.x are living; namely, Margaret, Mary 
N., George F., Lucy B., bVank L., and An- 
toinette. Margaret is the wife of Osman 
Dalton, of New York; Mary N. is the widow 
of Charles B. Edgcrley, late of Boston, Mass. ; 
Lucy B. is the wife of Marcus l^eynolds, of 
Brockton, this county; anil Antoinette married 
Walter Lilson, of Brockton. The deceased 
were Samuel I)., Caroline J., and Stephen D. 

Captain Howard has been a Republican 
since 1853. He has served as Selectman of 
West Bridgewater. Prior to the Ci\il War 
he was a member of an independent company 
of State militia, by whom, before he was 
twenty years old, he was chosen Captain. 
Tiiereafter he held that rank until the com- 
pany disbanded, a period of si.x years; and his 
many frientls have since addressed him as Cap- 



tain Howard. He is a member of the Unita- 
rian church. 




0^ LBHRTO W. LUMBKRT, the efficient 
superintendent of D. W. I-"ield's Shoe 
Factory of Brockton, was born in 
Hyannis, l^arnstable County, Mass., Sep- 
tember 5. 1871, son of Henry C. and Sophia 
(Howes) Lumi^ert. The family has resided 
in that \icinity for a century past. Zimri 
Lumiiert, grandfather of Alberto W., was a 
native of that town, and became a farmer in 
Hyannisport. He married Mary Ames, of 
Cotuit, Mass.; and they had eight children, 
four sons and four daughters, all but one of 
whom are living, nearly all being residents of 
Cape Cod. Zimri Lumbert died at the age 
of seventy-five years. His son, Henr}' C. 
Lumbert, who was educated in the common 
schools, subsequently became a carpenter and 
boat-builder, carr)^ing on those trades for sev- 
eral years. His wife, Sophia G., is a daugh- 
ter of Philip Howes, of Barnstable, Mass. 
Four children are the result of their union. 
Both parents are living, the father being fifty- 
eight years old. He is a member of Hyannis 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 

Alberto W. Lumbert was the third child of 
his parents. After spending two years in the 
Hyannis High School, he took a course in the 
Brvant & Stratton Commercial College in 
Boston. In May, 1886, he entered D. W. 
Field's Shoe l^'actory as book-keeper. Si.x 
years thereafter, in 1893, he was appointed 
superintendent, which position he now holds. 
In October, 1894, Mr. Lumbert was united in 
marriage with Elizabeth KelJey, daughter of 
Alexander Kelley, of San Francisco, Cal. 
They have one daughter, Lorna. In jiolitics 
Mr. Lumbert is independent, but favors the 
Republican party. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 



3i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



'OHN M. ALLEN, an esteemed resi- 
dent of Marion, was born June 24, 
1842, in the village of Sipj^ican, son 
of Captain Henry M. Allen. He comes of 
old pioneer stock. The first of the name in 
this town was John Allen, who came to Mar- 
ion from Connecticut in 1737. Previous to 
that time the said John Allen, assisted by six- 
teen other brave men, had seized an Indian 
fort in Connecticut, where he lived for a time, 
having received a grant of land near Wood- 
stock from the government. After coming to 
this town, he made a trip to Rochester to have 
his will drawn up; and, as he was returning, 
his boat was capsized in Sippican Harbor, and 
he was drowned. Of his five children, two 
sons were in the Revolutionary War. One of 
these, John, Jr., was a Sergeant. His son 
Weston became the father of Joseph, who was 
a sea captain, and the grandfather of John M. 
Allen. 

Captain Henry M. Allen was born in Mar- 
ion in i8og. Nine years later he began to 
go to sea with his father, who was a ship- 
owner. After sailing with his father for sev- 
eral years, he became master of a vessel, in 
which calling he met with great success. 
His last years were passed at his home in 
Marion, where his death occurred in 1887, 
his body being laid to rest in Evergreen 
Cemetery. He was a public-spirited man, 
and did much to advance the interests of the 
town and of his church. He married Matilda 
E. Clark, who was born in New Rochelle, 
N.Y., in 1807. She died in 1882 at the 
house of her son in New ]?edford, where she 
was then visiting. They had three children, 
as follows: Mary E., who has been librarian 
at the Marion Library since 1874; John M., 
the subject of this sketch; and Nathan H., 
an organist and teacher, residing in Hartford, 
Conn. 



After having been a pupil of the public and 
private schools of his native village, John M. 
Allen, at the age of fifteen years, entered 
Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., where 
he pursued his studies three years. He then 
took a course at Harvard University in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., and in 1864 was graduated in 
civil engineering. He subsequently spent 
three years in the office of Ware & Van Brunt, 
architects in Boston, and then went to New 
Bedford, where he was engaged as an architect 
for ten years. After the death of his father, 
Mr. Allen returned to Marion, and has lived 
there since. He is the owner of considerable 
shore property in this vicinity, and carries on 
a substantial business in conveyancing, sur- 
veying, and other work connected with real 
estate. He has been a Justice of the Peace 
for three years, was Superintendent of Schools 
in 1877, and he has served in the capacities 
of Town Auditor and Chairman of the School 
Committee. 

On April 15, 1878, Mr. Allen married 
Lizzie W. Allen, a native of Pittsburg, Pa., 
and a daughter of Charles W. Ricketson. 
Their only child is Matilda, now a student at 
Tabor Academy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Allen 
are members of the Episcopal church. Mr. 
Allen is President of the Marion Library 
Association and of the Natural History So- 
ciety of this place. Through his efforts the 
fire department of Marion was organized in 
i8gi, and he has been among the foremost in 
aiding all other projects beneficial to the 
town. 



-f^TLNRY LYMAN FLETCHER, 
r^l formerly a prosperous business man, 
Ji® V^ ^ is now living in retirement in 
Hingham. He was born October 11, 1825, 
in Boston, Mass., son of Lyman and Clarissa 
(Caldwell) Fletcher. His great-grandfather, 



J 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



3'7 



Joshua I-'lctchcr, wlio was born November 20, 
1 73 1, married lilizabeth Raymond, and settled 
in Westford, Mass., about two miles from the 
place of his birth. They had nine children, 
of whom Lyman, the grandfather, was the 
second child. L)man was born in Ashburn- 
ham, Mass., Juno I2, 1758, and died in 1834. 
His wife, Louisa (Gates) Fletcher, who was a 
native of Ashbiirniiam, and lived to the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-seven years, bore him 
nine children. Lyman, their eldest child, 
born in Ashburnham, May -30, 1796, was the 
head tanner in Westford, having served seven 
years as apprentice. He afterward went to 
Ro.xbury, Mass., where he followed the same 
business until his tleath on February 26, 
1835, at the age of thirty-eight years. His 
wife, Clarissa, lived to be eighty-five years 
old. In their religious belief both were lib- 
eral. They were the parents of si.v children. 

After acquiring his education in the Rox- 
bury schools, Henry Lyman Fletcher went to 
Westford, where he was employed on a farm 
for four years. He subsequently returned to 
Roxbury, and learned the nailer's trade with 
the Boston Iron Company, with whom he re- 
mained until 1846. In the spring of the 
same year he located in East Weymouth, 
Mass., and was there engaged in his business 
until June 2, 1851, when he came to Iling- 
ham, where he has since remained. He re- 
tired from business in 1S85. In politics he 
affiliates with the Republican party, while in 
his religious belief he is a Universalist. 

On March 26, 1848, he was united in mar- 
riage with Isabella Our, a lady of Scotch 
ancestry. They have had four children, one 
of whom is living. This is William Our 
Fletcher, born October 19, 1863, who, on Sep- 
tember 27, 1887, married Hattie L. Dunbar, 
daughter of Martin Dunbar, of Hingham, and 
has one child, Carlton Dunbar Fletcher, born 



March 14, 1S93. Charles H. Fletcher, an- 
other son of Henry Lyman, born October 13, 
1848, married Hannah L. Hicknell, and died 
June I, 1876. By this union there were three 
children, namely: Grace Carlton, born Novem- 
ber 27, 1870; Olive Barnes, born March 13, 
1872; and Arthur Lincoln, born April 21, 
1875. Thomas L. Fletcher, son of Henry L. 
Fletcher, born August 11, 1853, died Decem- 
ber 13, 1857. Thomas L. Fletcher (.second), 
born November 25, 1861, died August 7, 
1864. Mrs. H. L. Fletcher's death occurred 
on November 11, 1892, sharing the belief in 
universal salvation with her husband. Mr. 
Fletcher has the sincere esteem of the com- 
munity. The ease and rest he now enjoys 
were well earned by his previous life of 
industry. 



E WATSON SHAW, of Carver, was 
born September i, 1838, on the farm 
which he now occupies. His fa- 
ther, Nathaniel Shaw, married Betsey S. 
Shurtliff, and by her became the father of 
eleven children, named respectively as fol- 
lows: Lucy, Gilbert, Betsey, Nathaniel, E. 
Watson, Elbridge, Malinda, Wilson, Mary, 
Sabie, and Joseph. Nathaniel, Elbridge, 
and K. Watson served in the Civil War. 
Elbridge, who was a private in Company C, 
of tlic Eighteenth Massachusetts Infantry, 
died in service near Gaines Mills, June 14, 
1862. 

E. Watson Siiaw learned the carpenter's 
trade in his youth, and was engaged in that 
employment when the war broke out. In 1862 
he enlisted as a private in Company B, Third 
Massachusetts Regiment. The company mus- 
tered at Camp Joe Hooker, and saw its first 
hard service at Kingston. After nine months* 
service he received an honorable discharge, 
and returned to Carver. At that time he set- 



3i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tied down upon the old homestead, where he 
has continued to reside since. A large part 
of his farm, which contains two hundred and 
fifty acres, is devoted to the culture of cran- 
berries and strawberries. 

He has been twice married. His first mar- 
riage was contracted in 1861 with Miss Mary 
Crowell, daughter of Jeremiah Crowell, of 
North Dennis. Born of the union were four 
children — Elbridge, Sarah M., William M., 
and Dclphenia. Elbridge was named after 
his uncle, who died during the Civil War. 
Left a widower by the death of his first wife, 
Mr. Shaw entered a second marriage with Miss 
Mary VVhidden, daughter of Simeon and Sarah 
Mcintosh, who became the mother of five chil- 
dren — Helen, Lucy, Carrie, Elbridge, and 
Edward. Edward is now deceased. Mr. Shaw 
is an esteemed member of the Baptist church 
of Carver. He is a comrade of Post No. 8, 
Grand Army of the Republic, of Middleboro 



"OB P. OTIS, a native resident of Scit- 
uate, is a scion of one of the old 
Colonial families which have flour- 
ished for two centuries or more on this soil. 
He was born on May 30, 183 1, a son of Cap- 
tain Job P. and Lydia (Clapp) Otis. 

From Deane's History of Scituate we 
learn that the first of the family to dwell in 
this town was John Otis, who was born in 
England in 1620, came to Hingham, Mass., 
with his father, John, Sr., in 1635, settled in 
Scituate in 1661, and died here in 1683, mean- 
time having spent a few years in Barnstable. 
He left several children, one a son Job, born 
in 1667. The house in which the subject of 
this sketch formerly lived, the one adjoining 
his present residence, is said to be two hun- 
dred years old or more. It has been repaired 
and modernized, and has always been occupied 



by an Otis. The Christian name Job is a 
favorite in the family, and was borne by the 
great -great-grandfather and the great-grand- 
father of the subject of the present sketch, as 
well as by his father and himself. The first 
Job was a native of Scituate, like all those 
who succeeded him. Abijah Otis, our sub- 
ject's grandfather, was both a competent 
farmer and a skilled and enterprising 
mechanic, being a cabinet-maker, carriage- 
maker, and an expert in other trades. He 
was a very prominent citizen of Scituate. 

Captain Job P. Otis followed the sea for a 
number of years, in command of different 
vessels. He died in a foreign port. His 
wife, too, was a member of an old Scituate 
family. Two of their children are living: 
Job P., his father's namesake; and Lydia C, 
wife of Stephen D. Webb, of Weymouth, 
Mass. 

Job P. Otis, the subject of this sketch, was 
born in the old Otis house, and acquired his 
education in the common schools of Scituate. 
He went to work at the age of fourteen in a 
ship-yard at Scituate Harbor, and, after serv- 
ing an apprenticeship of three years, started 
out as a journeyman ship-carpenter. He was 
employed for a number of years in Medford, 
Mass., and in East and South Boston, retain- 
ing his residence in Scituate. When ship- 
building as an industry began to decline in 
Massachusetts, early in the sixties, he engaged 
in butchering, which he followed until about 
1882, when he sold his business, and retired; 
and since that time he has been engaged to 
some extent in general farming on the home- 
stead. Mr. Otis has been very successful in 
business, and has carved his fortune with his 
own hands. 

He was first married to Deborah T. Webb, 
who bore him one son, Charles H., who is de- 
ceased. The present Mrs. Otis was Miss 




JOB P. OTIS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



32t 



Annie M. AniltTson, of Cape Rrcton, N.S. 
Mr. and Mrs. Otis have one son, Job A., also 
an atloptctl daughter, Gracie L. Mr. Otis 
votes the Republican ticket. He is a mem- 
ber of the Unitarian society, while his wife 
belongs to the Presbyterian church. He 
is well known in this section of Plymouth 
County, and as an intelligent, upright, and 
useful citizen is highly esteemed. 




"ON. HORACE REED, the able 
manager of the Whitman Savings 
''^ * Bank, of which he has been Treas- 
urer since its incorporation, is a member of 
one of the old and influential families of this 
part of Plymouth County. He was born in 
Whitman, November 26, 1820, a son of Isaac 
and Nancy (Lincoln) Reed. 

Nearly all the Reeds of this vicinity and of 
Bristol County are descended from William 
Reade, who was born in England in 1605, 
sailed from Gravesend in 1635, and settled 
in Weymouth, Mass., then a new plantation, 
where he was made a freeman in the same 
year. William Reade represented Weymouth 
in the General Court in 1636 ami 1638. His 
wife's name was Ivis. Their children were: 
William, born October 15, 1639; Esther, born 
May 8, 164 1 ; Thomas; John, born in 1649; 
Mary; and Margaret. John was the direct 
ancestor of Chester I. Reed, of Taunton, who 
was Attorney-general of the Commonwealth 
in 1866. 

Most of the Reeds of Whitman and Abing- 
ton are descended from Thomas, above named, 
who was a prominent man, and held a number 
of civil and military offices. He died Novem- 
ber 14, 1 7 19. By his first wife, Sarah, he 
had the following children: Thomas, second, 
born September 12, 1671 ; Sarah S. ; John, born 
December 30, 1679; Samuel, born April 12, 



168 1 ; Mary L. ; Ruth White, born February 
20, 1684; William, born February 4, 1687; and 
Hannah Hart, born September 25, 1689. Hi.s 
second wife, Mary, died August 21, 1719. 
Thomas, second, the eldest child of Thomas 
and Sarah, resided in Abington. He died 
October 2, 17 19. He was married January 
14, 1 70 1, to Hannah Randall, who bore him 
the following children: Thomas, born October 
18, 1701; Daniel, born September 10, 1704; 
Hannah, born March 14, 1706; and Sarah, 
born August i, 171 5. 

Daniel, the second child of Thomas and 
Hannah (Randall) Reed, lived on the place 
subsequently occupied by Ezekiel Reed near 
the Centre Depot in Abington. He was mar- 
ried February 22, 1728, to Ruth Torrey, and 
was the father of the following children: 
Daniel, born November lo, 1729; Thomas, 
April 17, 1732; and Ruth, April 3, 1735. 

Thomas, the second son and the grandfather 
of our subject, was a man of large frame, more 
than six feet in height, of great physical en- 
durance and energy of character. He was 
possessed of large landed estates. He married 
first on July 10, 1755, Widow Mary Hobart 
White; and, second, Widow Sarah Thaxter 
Pulling, sister of Dr. Gridley Thaxter, and 
widow of John Pulling, of Boston. The chil- 
dren of this Thomas Reed were: Mary, born 
June 7, 1758, who married Simeon Gannett, 
of East Bridgewater, in 1775; Hannah, born 
October 24, 1759, who married Daniel Bick- 
nell, October 25, 1780, and removed to the 
State of Maine; Thomas, born December 12, 
1761; Samuel, born March 11, 1766; Huldah, 
born April 27, 176S, who married Dr. Richard 
Briggs, August 12, 1784, and removed to 
Worthington, this State; and Isaac, commonly 
called Deacon Isaac Reed, father of the Hon. 
HoraceReed. 

Thomas Reed, the third child of Thomas 



322 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and Mary, was a prominent man, known as 
Captain Reed. He married on January 24, 
1783, Joanna Shaw, and their children — 
Elizabeth, Thomas, Goddard, Joanna, Ebene- 
zer, Simeon Gannett, Albert, Amos S., Ada- 
line, Martha, Clarissa, and Theodore — -all 
lived to be married. The following is a brief 
record of the family: Elizabeth Reed, born 
March 12, 1784, married John Lane. Thomas 
married Lydia Jenkins, and reared Thomas, 
Lydia J., and Henry Watson. Goddard 
Reed, who died August 29, 1865, was married 
November 13, 1814, to Marcia Reed, and had 
the following children: Hannah, born Feb- 
ruary 18, 1816, who died young; Diana, born 
February 27, 1817, who married Isaac Keen, 
June 14, 1835, and died January 21, 1838; 
Washington, born July 6, 1820, who married 
Harriet Corthell, June 2, 1839, and had four 
children (Henry Harrison, born August 12, 
1840; Joanna, May 7, 1846; Charles God- 
dard, April 28, 1852; and Marcia, November 
26, 1853); Charles Goddard, born January 18, 
1823, who died September 22, the same year; 
and Marcia, born July 22, 1S28, who died 
September 4, 1848. Joanna, born December 
3, 1795, married Samuel Wales. Ebenezer, 
born July 4, 1790, who died in July, 1864, 
married Lucy Jenkins, November 30, 181 5, 
and reared Cleora, Lorenzo, Egbert, and 
Lucy. Simeon Gannett, born September 29, 
1793, who died in 1830, married Rachael 
Burgess, October 11, 1829, and reared one 
child, Simeon Gannett, Jr., who went to Ore- 
gon to live. Albert, born in 1802, married 
Mary Colburn, and reared one child, Samuel 
C. , who became a resident of New York. 
Amos S. , born May 22, 1804, married Novem- 
ber 9, 1826, Huldah B. Loud, who bore him 
Sarah Ann and Amos Newton; and married 
for his second wife Rachel B. Reed, Simeon 
G. Reed's widow, who bore him Edward Pay- 



son, Elizabeth Waldo, and Miranda. Adaline 
Reed, born April 22, 1806, married Brackley 
Shaw. Martha married Michael Sylvester, of 
Hanover, Mass. Clarissa married David 
Hunt. Theodore, the youngest child of Cap- 
tain Thomas and Joanna (Shaw) Reed, was 
three times married: first, December 26, 
1830, to Clarissa Jenkins, by whom he had 
Martha and Theodore W. ; second, December 
31, 1840, to Abigail Wilder, of Hingham, by 
whom he had Abigail and Frances ; and, 
third, to Lydia, widow of Melvin Gurney, by 
whom he had Lydia, Maria, Thomas, and 
Henry. Amos Newton Reed, son of Amos S., 
married Sarah Boynton, and had one child, 
Harry D., born May 22, 1S54. 

Lieutenant Samuel Reed, brother of Cap- 
tain Thomas, was also a man of great energy 
and physical power, and was a large land- 
owner. He died in 1805, aged thirty-nine 
years. On August 28, 1787, he married Mary 
Pool, who died in September, 1839, having 
been the mother of the following children: 
Mary, born March 3, 1789, who married Peter 
Ford, lived in Windsor, Mass., and died Sep- 
tember 21, 1S64; Samuel, born December 18, 
1790, mentioned at length below; Abiah, who 
was born May 19, 1793; Hannah, born March 
24, 1795, who was blind, and died young; 
Marcia, born January 19, 1798, who married 
Goddard Reed; Joseph, born October 28, 
1799; Ruth, who was born July 16, 1801, and 
died young; Charles, born November £, 1802, 
who went to Ohio to live; and Elias, born in 
1804, who died young. Samuel, the eldest 
son of Lieutenant Reed, was a well-known and 
influential citizen. The care of the home 
farm devolved upon him on the death of his 
father. 

On April 21, iSio, he married Polly Cor- 
thell, who died June 10, 1832. Their eldest 
son, Samuel, born May 26, 181 1, married 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



323 



January 17, 1S33, ICliza Wilkes, who ciiotl 
July 8, 1862; and on December 13, 1863, he 
was united to Hctsey B. Gardner. Mary, 
cUiest (lauj^hter of Samuel and I'olly Reed, 
born January 16, 181 3, was a successful 
teacher. She was married April 20, 1837, to 
John l^urrill, and had two children, a son and 
a daughter. Levi Reed, born December 31, 
1814, was educated at Phillips Academy, An- 
dover, and taught school for three years in 
Dedham, Mass., and for thirteen years in the 
Washington School in Ro.xbury, Mass. Re- 
turning to Abington, he was elected to the 
State Senate, and the following year was made 
Auditf)r of the Commonwealth. He was mar- 
ried A[iril :o, 1837, to Louisa C. Drake, and 
had the following children: Louisa Maria, 
born January 10, 1838; Samuel Bryant, born 
September lo, 1S41 ; May I-lmily, born July 
27, 1S50; ami Alfred Levi, born October 9, 
1S55. The other children of Samuel and 
I'olly (Corthell) Reed were: Dexter, born No- 
vember 10, 1 8 16; Mehitable, born September 
14, 1818; and Mehitable, born March 31, 
1822. Samuel Reed's second wife, whom he 
married September 5, 1S33, was Serissa 
(Litchfield) Bailey, widow of Rowland Bai- 
ley, of Scituate. The children by this union 
were: Serissa, born June 27, 1834; Rowland, 
October 13, 1836; Martha, November 13, 
1838; Sophia, October 3, 1840; and Anna, 
November 13, 1844. 

Isaac Reed, the youngest child of Thomas 
and .Mary (Hobart-White) Reed, was born 
August 4, 1770, was a well-to-do farmer, and 
lived to be seventy-seven years old. He was 
first married on May 5, 1793, to Sarah Pull- 
ing, daughter of his father's second wife, and 
by that union had the following children: 
John Pulling, born September 15, 1795; 
Sarah Pulling, born September 19, 1797, who 
married Charles Lane; Lucy Johnson, born 



May 29, 1800, who married Jesse Recti; Mar- 
tha Pulling, born March 16, 1802, who mar- 
ried Seth Pratt; Mary Hobart, born April i, 
1804, who married (jreenwood Cushing; Isaac, 
born January 21, 1806; Betsey Gannett, born 
August 25, 1807, who married Merritt Jen- 
kins; Ruth Torrey, born July 31, 1S09, who 
married John Woodbridge Jenkins; and Annis 
Jenks, born December 13, iSii, who died in 
December, 1S17. 

Deacon Isaac Reed married second on Feb- 
ruary 3, 1 8 19, Nancy Lincoln, who lived to 
be eighty-five years old. Her children were: 
Horace, the subject of the present sketch; 
William Lincoln, born October 5, 1825, a 
notice of whom apjiears elsewhere in this 
work; and Annis, born September 3, 1828, 
now the wife of Charles H. Cooke. 

Horace Reed was educated in the common 
schools of this vicinity and at Abington Acad- 
emy. He had little time for play in his boy- 
hood, being required to work on the farm 
when quite young. In early manhood he be- 
came interested in the shoe business, and with 
his brother, William L. Reed, engaged in the 
manufacture of shoes until 1883, winning the 
confidence of the business community by his 
probity and good judgment in financial mat- 
ters. I'Llected Treasurer of the Whitman Sav- 
ings Bank in 1888, at the time of its incor- 
poration, he has had the management of the 
institution ever since; and it has jirospered 
increasingly under his charge. He is also a 
Trustee of the bank. 

Mr. Reed was married in 1840 to Lurana H. 
Bates, daughter of Christopher Bates. Mrs. 
Reed died December 3, 1896, at the age of 
seventy-seven years, si.\ months, and ten days. 
Mr. Bates was a native of Plymouth County. 
He was a large contractor and builder; and his 
daughter was born in Richmond, Va., where 
he was engaged in the erection of factories. 



324 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Reed has two living cliiltlren — Helen 
Augusta and Arthur Ellsworth. The former 
is the wife of J. P. Bates, of the firm of Cobb, 
Bates & Yer.xa, Boston, and mother of two 
living children — Carrie Almera and Mabel 
Frances. The latter, who resides in Hyde 
Park, Mass., is married, and has three children 
— Helen, William, and Olive Augusta Reed. 
A stanch Republican, Mr. Reed was in the 
Massachusetts House of Representatives in 
1862-63, during the administration of Gover- 
nor Andrew. In 1884-85, during Governor 
Robinson's administration, he was in the Sen- 
ate; and in 1886-87 h*-^ was on the Board of 
Census Enumeration, under Colonel Wright, 
travelling through the State, collecting statis- 
tics relative to the manufacturing interests of 
the country. In the old town of Abington he 
was a member of the School Board; and he is 
the present Secretary and Treasurer of the 
Whitman School Board, and has been on the 
School Committee for ten years. Mr. Reed is 
a member of the Masonic order. He is active 
in the Congregational church, and was super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school for sixteen 
years. 



~Cr EARING BURR is known to the pub- 
p [^ lie as a writer on horticultural sidijects 
and on the history of Hingham, his 
native town, where he has made his home dur- 
ing the greater part of his life. He was 
born December 11, 1815, the eldest child of 
his parents. Fearing and Emma (Jacobs) Burr. 
The progenitor of this branch of the Burr 
family was Simon Burr, who came to Hing- 
ham in 1647, but whose birthplace and de- 
scent are open questions. It is thought by 
some that he was an original settler; by 
others, that he was son of the Rev. Jonathan 
Burr, who was settled as colleague of the Rev. 
Cotton Mather in Dorchester in 1640, and died 



in Augu.st, 1 64 1. (See "History of the Burr 
Family," by Charles Burr Todd, published 
in 1 891.) Simon Burr, of Hingham, was a 
farmer, a man of some prominence, living on 
what is now School Street, Hingham Centre. 
He died February 7, 1692, in his seventy-fifth 
year, having lived through the height of the 
witchcraft excitement, in which Dr. Mather 
took such an active part. He was twice mar- 
ried, and had two children by his first wife, 
and four by his second. 

John, born January 6, 1660, in Hingham, 
was the third cliild of the second marriage. 
He, too, was a farmer, living in Hingham 
Centre, and was a man of considerable influ- 
ence in the town. It is recorded that he was 
Constable in 1698, and he seems to have had 
much to do with town affairs. He died De- 
cember 7, 17 16. His estate was a large one, 
valued at that day at nine hundred and 
twenty-one pounds, sixteen shillings, and five 
pence. John Burr was married December 24, 
16S5, to Mary, daughter of John and Deborah 
(Wilson) Warren, of Boston. She died in 
Hingham, July 26, 1742. This couple were 
the parents of ten children. The sixth child, 
Jonathan, the next in the line now being 
traced, was born in Hingham, February 3, 
1698. He was a cooper by trade and occupa- 
tion, living at the junction of Turkey Hill 
Road and Leavitt Street. He died June 23, 
1762. Jonathan Burr was married in Boston, 
April ig, 1720, to Mary, daughter of Thomas 
and Sarah (Lewis) Lincoln. She was born in 
Hingham, January 14, 1696, and died in the 
same town, October 26, 1784. 

They, too, were the parents of ten children; 
and the seventh child was Thomas, who was 
born in Hingham, August 17, 1735. A 
cooper by trade like his father, he was also a 
farmer, and was a very industrious man. His 
home was on Main Street, Hingham Centre. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



325 



Tliomas Hiiir served in the I'rench and Indian 
War, and was present at tlie caiiitiilation (if 
Fort William Henry in 1757, and at the 
taking of Fort l-'rontcnac (which stood on the 
present site of Kingston, at the outlet of Lake 
Ontario) in 1758. louring the Revolution he 
held a commission in the Continental army as 
Lieutenant in Captain Peter Cushing's Corn- 
pan)-. He died September 23, 18 12. On 
August 22, 1759, he was married to Margaret, 
daughter of Hawkes and Margaret (Lincoln) 
Fearing. She was born i)i Ilingham, Septem- 
ber 25, 1742, and died April i, 1821. Her 
children were five in number, and b'earing, 
first, father of the subject of this sketch, was 
the youngest. 

Fearing Burr, Sr., was born in Hingham, 
June 12, 1778. IJesides keeping a general 
store, he was interested in the jiractical study 
of horticulture, to which lie devoted much 
time; and he was noted for his knowledge of 
plants, shrubs, and trees. He died January 
13, 1866. He was married March 25, 1812, 
to Emma, daughter of Peter and P^mma (Fear- 
ing) Jacobs. She was born in Ilingham, Oc- 
tober I, 1792, and died February 18, 183 1. 
She was the mother of si.\ children, the 
father's namesake being the eldest of the 
family. 

P'earing Purr, Jr.. was given good educa- 
tional privileges in the commnn schools of 
his native town and Derby Academy. While 
pursuing his studies, and for some time after- 
ward, he helped his father on the farm, and 
imbibed from him a love for horticulture, 
learning much from his father, and reading 
all the publications on the subject that came 
wiliiin his reach. He was for twelve years 
in the seed business in the house of M. & I"". 
Burr, Boston, and during the rest of his active 
life has been occupied on the home farm, and 
in the store established by his father. After 



the death of their father, P'earing Burr and 
his brother succeeded him as managers of the 
business, which was conducted uninterruptedly 
for fifty years. The brothers then practically 
retired from trade. I'caring Burr has accom- 
plished considerable literary labor. He is 
the author of a valuable work, entitled "The 
P'ield and Garden Vegetables of America," 
published in 1865, and co-author with George 
Lincoln of an octavo volume of four hundred 
and fifty pages, published in 1S76, entitled 
"The Town of Hingham in the Civil War," 
which gives an exhaustive history of the part 
Hingham took in the national crisis. Mr- 
Burr later rendered valuable service in the 
preparation of "The History of the Town of 
Hingham," issued in 1893, in four large oc- 
tavo volumes, to which he contributed the 
interesting chapter on " Publications," treat- 
ing of authors and literary works connected 
with the town. He has also been engaged 
in various business enterprises, and has proved 
himself to be a man of unusual ability. 

Mr. Burr cast his maiden vote in the ranks 
of the Whigs. He is interested in public 
affairs, but has avoided political preferment. 
A friend and helper of the cause of education, 
he has served on the School Committee, and 
is now a Trustee of the Ilingham Public 
Library. In religious matters he is liberal, 
though holding well-established views of his 
own. He is a member of the l*"irst Church, 
with which his ancestors worshipped for many 
generations, a Unitarian church now, though 
originally Trinitarian. The edifice, the 
"Old Meeting-house," as it is called, was 
built in 1681, and has been so well cared for 
that it is in a good state of preservation, 
having been twice enlarged. 

Mr. Burr's brother Peter, born p-ebruary 26, 
1820, and a sister Margaret, born I-'ebruary 6, 
1825, live with him at the old homestead, the 



326 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



three forming a harmonious and happy house- 
hold. Another sister, Meriel, born in 1818, 
also unmarried, was with them up to the time 
of her death, a short time since, the four hav- 
ing lived under the same roof as members of 
one family for more than seventy years. 



WILLIAM H. SANDERSON, super- 
intendent of the Bridgewater and 
Abington public schools, has dis- 
tinguished himself as an educator in Vermont 
and Massachusetts. A native of Shrewsbury, 
Rutland County, Vt., he was born October 23, 
1855, son of Thatcher and Mary (Harkness) 
Sanderson. His earlier ancestors on the pa- 
ternal side resided in New York State. The 
first representative of the family to locate 
in Vermont was his grandfather, Amos San- 
derson, who settled in Rutland County. 
Thatcher Sanderson, who was a native and 
lifelong resident of the Green Mountain State, 
followed the occupation of farmer up to the 
time of his death, which occurred in 1878. 
His wife, also deceased, was born in Scotland. 
William H. Sanderson obtained his early 
education in the public schools of his native 
town. Thrown practically on his own re- 
sources at the age of fourteen, he worked at 
whatever offered, in order to obtain funds to 
complete his education. In this effort he was 
successful. He graduated from the Green 
Mountain Academy at South Woodstock, Vt. 
At the age of twenty-one he entered Vermont 
University at Burlington, where he studied for 
two years. Gifted with the character and the 
insight into human nature which make the 
successful teacher, he further qualified himself 
for the profession by making a close study of 
the principles and practice of pedagogy. For 
ten years he was principal of the high school 
at Woodstock, Vt., and for five years of that 



time he was superintendent of the Woodstock 
schools. Also for a number of years he 
served in the capacity of examiner of candi- 
dates for teachers' long-term certificates in 
Windsor County; and for three years, by the 
appointment of the governor, he was examiner 
for the Vermont State Normal Schools. He 
became a resident of Bridgewater in 1891, 
since which time his earnest and disinterested 
work as an educator has won recognition. By 
his thoroughness and administrative ability 
he has noticeably raised the standard of the 
schools now under his charge. 

In 1876 Mr. Sanderson was united in mar- 
riage with Gertrude Maxham, of Montpelier, 
Vt. His children are: Ernest J., who is a 
student at Harvard College; Ruth G. ; and 
Mary B. While in Vermont, he was for some 
time President of the State Teachers' Associa- 
tion, and a member of its Executive Commit- 
tee. In politics Mr. Sanderson is a Repub- 
lican. 



T^AITAIN CHARLES BRYANT, who 
I \r^ is now living in retirement in Matta- 

v J? ^ ^ poisett, Mass., has spent a number 
of years in the whale fishery, and has twice 
held important governmental positions in the 
Behring Sea district. He was born in 
Rocliestcr, Plymouth County, May 9, 1820, a 
son of William and Mary (Johnson) Bryant. 
Reared in Rochester, he acquired his early 
knowledge of books in a district school, but is 
mainly self-educated. He began to learn the 
sail-maker's trade in New Bedford when six- 
teen years of age, and worked at it for four 
years and a half, shipping then as sail-maker 
on the whaling brig "Montezuma," which 
cruised in the Atlantic Ocean, and was out 
eighteen months. His next engagement was 
as boat steerer on the ship "Julian," also a 
whaling vessel, which was two and a half 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



327 



years out from the home port, cruising in the 
North racilic. He was suhseqiiently engaged 
as thirtl mate of the ship "Nimrod," vvliich 
was out thirty-four months in the Pacific 
Ocean, returning as second mate; as second 
mate of the "Ohio," which was gone three 
years in the same waters; as mate of the ship 
" Euphrates," which was out from port nearly 
three years; and, lastly, as mate of the whaling 
ship "John Howland," which cruised in the 
Okhotsk Sea and the Arctic Seas, being gone 
forty-four months. Deciding then to retire 
from the sea, Mr. l^ryant purchased a farm at 
•Hast Fairhaven, where he resided some twelve 
years; but fortune had not willed that he 
should retire to private life so soon, and he 
was called from his farm to undertake a mis- 
sion to Alaska to report on the fur-seal in- 
terest in that vicinity. He was given charge 
of the islands in the Hehring Sea, receiving 
his appointment from Hugh McCulloch, then 
Secretary of the United States Treasury, and 
spent the winter of 1868 at Sitka, returning to 
his home in September, i86g. In March, 
1870, he was sent again to the islands in the 
seal region, and given authority to act as gov- 
ernor of the natives, receiving his appointment 
from George S. Boutwell, Secretary of the 
Treasury. There he remained until 1877, 
when he retuincd to the old Bay State, anil 
settled in Mattapoisett, his home up to the 
present time. 

Captain Bryant was married in 1S51 to Miss 
Hannah Eldridge, daughter of Peleg and Han- 
nah (Briggs) Eldridge, of Taunton, Mass. 
He has no children. He has long been inter- 
ested in public affairs, and has held a number 
of offices of trust. In 1867 and 1868, while 
a resident of Fairhaven, he occupied a seat in 
the State legislature; and in Mattapoisett he 
has served as a member of the Board of 
Health, and as a member of the School Board 



for four years. He is a man of ability, who 
efficiently performs all duties intrusteil to him. 



Y^TICNRY C. HARDING, the esteemed 
r^i Treasurer of the Hingham Institution 
Ji® \^_^ for Savings, was born here April 
27, 1832, son of David and Bet.sy T. (Tilden) 
Harding. Thomas Harding, the grandfather, 
who was born at Chatham, Mass., in 1774, 
settled in Hingham in 1802. He was a sea 
captain, and lived near the harbor on North 
Street in this town. In 1795 he married 
Patience, daughter of Joshua Mayo, of ICast- 
hani, Barnstable County, and they had eight 
children — David, Eliza Willis, Josiah Mayo, 
Sarah Doane, Mary, Thomas, Rebecca, and 
Seaman Harding. David was born at East- 
ham, June 4, 1796. Eliza Willis, born at 
Eastham, November 20, 1797, married Ben- 
jamin Chamberlain, of Boston, December 4, 
1817, and died August 10, 18 18, at the age 
of twenty -one years. Josiah Mayo, born in 
Chatham, June 11, 1800, married Nancy Jen- 
nings, and resided in Boston. Sarah Doane, 
born in Hingham, May 28, 1803, married 
Cornelius Nye on June 13, 1826, and died 
September 11, 1828. Mary, born November 
13, 1804, died July 21, 1827. Thomas, also 
deceased, was born February iS, 1807. Re- 
becca, born February 16, iSii, married Cap- 
tain Samuel Easterbrook. .Seaman, who was 
born March 17, 18 12, removed to Boston, and 
was married October 7, 1S33, to Emeline 
Ruggles. He died in Melrose, Mass., January 
29, 1872. The father died July 24, 1821, at 
the age of forty-seven years; and the mother, 
in Hingham, November 4, 1823, at the age of 
forty-eight. 

David Harding, the eldest son of Thomas, 
was Secretary of the Hingham Mutual Fire 
Insurance Company for many years. Treasurer 



328 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the Hinghani Institution for Savings, and 
one of the founders of both institutions. He 
was twice married, the first time on March 7, 
1824, to Lydia Lane, daughter of Rufus and 
Hannah (Marsh) Lane. She was born in 
Hingham, March 12, 1796, and died October 
10, 1S24. His second marriage was con- 
tracted June I, 1829, with Betsy T. Tilden, 
daughter of Jotham and Betsy (Turner) Til- 
den, of Marshfield, Mass. She was born there 
October 2, 1799, and died in Hingham, March 
14, 1873. David died on February 14, 1874. 
They resided on Main Street, opposite Derby 
Academy, and had two children — Sarah 
Mayo and Henry Clay. Sarah Mayo, who 
was born September [4, 1830, on October 5, 
1852, married Robert W. Oliphant, M. D., of 
St. Louis, Mo. She died there July 10, 1875, 
while her husband lived until October 9, 1883. 
They had one son, Robert Henry, born Sep- 
tember 9, 1854, who died ill Hingham, Feb- 
ruary 8, 1S73, being then a Freshman of 
Harvard College. 

Henry C. Harding, the second child of 
his parents, after attending the public schools 
and Derby Academy, entered the employment 
of the bank in which he has grown up with the 
business. The Hingham Institution for Sav- 
ings was incorporated April 2, 1834. David 
Harding was elected its first Treasurer on No- 
vember 8, 1834. The first deposit was re- 
ceived December 24, 1834, and the amount of^, 
deposits at the end of the first year, January i, 
1836, was thirty thousand, one hundred and 
thirteen dollars and fifty-four cents. The 
growth of this institution has been healthy, 
owing in a great measure to the faithful ser- 
vices rendered by David Harding in the capa- 
city of Treasurer, and his son, Henry C, who 
succeeded his father in 1863. According to a 
tabular statement of the Treasurer made Jan- 
uary I, 1896, the amount now on deposit at 



this bank is over two million dollars. Mr. 
Harding is a Director of the Hingham Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company, a Trustee and the 
Treasurer of Derby Academy, and President 
of the Proprietors of Hingham Cemetery. In 
politics he was formerly a Whig, and now 
affiliates with the Republican party. 
■ Mr. Harding has been twice married. The 
first time was October 11, 1859, when he was 
united to Elizabeth A. Lincoln, daughter of 
Calvin and Elizabeth (Andrews) Lincoln, of 
Hingham. She died in St. Louis on Decem- 
ber 31, 1864. His second marriage, per- 
formed June 2, 1874, wedded him to Helen M. 
Stowell, daughter of Hersey and Crisscy 
(Hersey) Stowell. In religion Mr. Harding 
is a Unitarian, and he is Treasurer of the 
First Parish Church, the old meeting-house. 
Mr. Harding commands the entire respect 
and confidence of his fellow-townsmen, who 
regard him as a most worthy son of a most 
worthy father. 




RTHUR B. MARSTON, merchant, a- 
member of the firm of Howard & Cald-- 
welLJirockton, was -born-^areh— i-j, — 
L857, in Chatham, Mass., of which plate his - 
mother's family have long been residents. — 
His parents — were Zerras—L; and Rhoda C. 
(Young) Marston. Ci^Q.S//i '^ ^^ 

twZenas Lj)V^Marston was borri at Marston'^s 
Mills, Avhich received its name from the 
family, woollen gau^ being manufacturetl — 
there^— H^ came , to Brockton, then North 
Bridgewater, in i860, and for many years 
was engaged in business in that part of the 
town known ^s Campello, where he is still 
Uving, at the age of seventy<^four years. «^ He 
was formerly an engineer in the Brockton fire 
department, in which h £ has a lways taken 
much interest. While at Chatham, he ownecT 



■ )^ 



"> 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



329 



ifv^-^L 



and ^ondueteci a store several -years. He was 1 
sexton of the South Congregational Cliurcli 
of Ikocktoirt ^He married Rhoda C, a daugh- 
ter of Josc|)h and Bethiah Young, of Chat- 
ham, where her f.ither was a large land- 
owner, Mr. and Mrs. Zenas I,. Marston are 
the parents of six children, four sons and 
two daughters, ^ all - of whom are living in 
Hrockton, Marry being chief of the fire de- 
partment. Russell Marston, pro])rictor of 
tiie famous restaurant which bears his name 
on Brattle and Hanover Streets, Boston, is a 
cousin of Zenas L^_ Majston. j- ', / ^ ,;' 

V lArthur B. Marston received his education in 
the Brockton schools. As a boy, ambitious 
arrd- e4ier4(etic, with a natural bent for trade, 
he pcddleti apples in Brockton, becoming well 
known on the street. At sixteeni he entered 
the clothing store of Howard & Calclwell, with 
'whom he has since remained, having-applied 



, himself sedulously and faithfully to husiiji^ss. 

*V i,\^^-He was-aHmittfed to partnership in iSSo, the 
firm name, however, continuing unchanged. 

Mr. Marston was united in marriage with 
Miss Abbie H. Eldredge, daughter of Charles 
H. and Abigail Eldredge, of Brockton, en- 
June II, iSjg, and they now have two chil- 
dren, a boy of ten and a girl of twelve years. 

Mr. Marston votes the Republican 'ticket, 
but further than that does not participate in 
political matters. I'Vaternally/ he is a mem- 
ber of St. George Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Campello; Satucket Chapter, Royal Arch 
Masons; and the Bay State Commandery, 
Knights Templars, of ]5rockton ; I'llectric 
Lodge, No. 204, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows;>hc Ancient Order of UnitecU Work- 
men; Campello Lodge, No. 30; and Garfield 
Commandery, No. 158, United Order of, Gol- 
den Cross. He is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church, and Chairman of Music Com- 
mittee of that society. 




,INOT S. CURTIS, the Chief of 
the East Bridgewater fire depart- 
ment, and a contracting painter 
and decorator, was born in this town. May 9, 
1843. He is a son of Elbridge and Matilda 
W. (Horton) Curtis, both natives of Massa- 
chusetts. Elbridge Curtis, who was a cutter 
by trade, and was employed for a great many 
years in the manufacture of hand-made custom 
shoes, died some years ago. His widow is 
now in her eighty-third year. Of their chil- 
dren Elbridge R., Edward B., Lucius J., and 
Minot S. are living. 

Minot S. Curtis was educated in the com- 
mon schools and at East Bridgewater Acad- 
emy. At the age of seventeen he began to 
learn the painter's trade. After finishing a 
three years' apprenticeship with Braman 
Brothers, of Bridgewater, he became one of 
their regular employees, and remained with 
them for several years. When the men of 
Plymouth County were mustering for the tie- 
fence of the Union he was one of them. He 
enlisted May 9, 1861, in Company C, Twenty- 
ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which 
afterward served with the Second Brigade in 
the Army of the Potomac, under McClellan 
and other leaders, finishing his term under the 
command of General Grant. In action most 
of the time, he took part in twenty-four 
battles, including the second Bull Run, Antie- 
tam, the siege of Vicksburg, the Wilderness, 
and Spottsylvania Ccnirt-house. During the 
Peninsular Campaign, at the battle of White 
Oak Swamp, he was wounded in the left arm. 
Receiving his discharge in September, 1864, 
he returned to his native State, and resumeil 
his trade. For the past twenty years he has 
been in business for himself as contracting 
painter and decorator. His admirable taste, 
and his promptness and accuracy in filling con- 
tracts have made him a favorite in his line, 



33° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and brought him a large and lucrative busi- 
ness. He keeps ten men employed almost 
constantly, while in the busy season he is 
obliged to double the number. 

Married in November, 1864, to Miss Ada- 
line Thompson, Mr. Curtis has one child, 
Henry M. In politics he favors the Repub- 
lican side. For the past six years he has 
been the Chief of the Fire Department, in 
which capacity he has given eminent satisfac- 
tion. He is a member of Satucket Masonic 
Lodge, of East Bridgewater, and was thir- 
teen years Quartermaster of Justin Dimick 
Grand Army Post. Mr. Curtis is well known 
in the Bridgewaters, and enjoys the esteem of 
all with whom he has dealings. 



-f^ENJAMIN S. ATWOOD, a well- 
known business man of Whitman, 
Plymouth County, Mass., owner 
and manager of one of the best-equipped bo.\' 
factories in America, was born in the town of 
Carver, Mass., June 25, 1840. His parents 
were Reuel and Abigail S. (Tilson) Atwood. 

The first progenitor of the family in Amer- 
ica was John, a native of England, who came 
to our shores and settled in Plymouth more 
than two hundred and fifty years ago, less than 
a quarter of a century after the landing of the 
Pilgrims. He married, and had several chil- 
dren, including three or four sons, one of 
whom died in Plymouth; while tradition says 
that another dropped the first two letters of 
his surname, his posterity being thereafter 
known under the name of Wood. Stephen 
Atwood settled on Cape Cod. Mr. Benjamin 
S. Atwood traces his descent from Nathaniel 
Atwood, who settled in that part of Plymouth 
which in 1709 was set off as Plympton, and in 
1790 was incorporated as Carver, and whose 
son Nathaniel was a Deacon in the Plymouth 



church. He married Mary, daughter of Jona- 
than Morey; and their son, Lieutenant Na- 
thaniel Atwood, married Mary Adams, of 
Kingston. 

The next representative of the ancestral line 
was Ichabod Atwood, the great-grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch. He was a farmer, 
who also dealt in wood, lumber, and charcoal. 
His wife, Hannah Shaw, was a daughter of 
Captain Nathaniel Shaw, who commanded a 
company during the Revolutionary War. Na- 
thaniel Atwood, son of Ichabod and Hannah, 
inherited the paternal acres, and, following in 
the footsteps of his father, became a farmer 
and a dealer in wood, lumber, and charcoal. 
His entire life was spent in Middleboro, 
Mass. The maiden name of his wife was 
Zilpha Shurtleff. 

Their son, Reuel Atwood, was trained to 
agricultural pursuits; but, when he attained 
his majority, he was engaged in teaming, and 
for a number of years drove the stage, meeting 
his death by accident at the age of fifty-si.x. 
Abigail S. Tilson was the name of the fair 
maid whom he led to the marriage altar. She 
was a native of Carver, being a daughter of 
Ichabod Tilson, who was born in the same 
town. Mrs. Abigail S. Atwood lived to be 
sixty-five years of age, and was the mother of 
seven children. 

Benjamin S. Atwood attendeil public schools 
in Carver and Middleboro, and at the age of 
sixteen commenced to earn his own living. 
Until the breaking out of the Civil War he 
was employed in a lumber-mill. In April, 
1 861, at the first call for troops, he enlisted 
for three months in Company H, Third Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, and went to T'ort- 
ress Monroe. At the expiration of his term of 
service he was discharged, and returned home. 
Soon after, however, he was commissioned 
P'irst Lieutenant by Governor Andrew, and 





t: ^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



335 



later enlisted for nine months in Company H, 
Third Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He 
then went to New Heme, N.C., and served in 
tliat State until liis period of service expired. 
Receivinj; honorable ilischar^e, he returned 
home, and for a time thereafter was employed 
in a box factory. In October, i866, he went 
into business for himself, becoming a box 
manufacturer in North Abington. Two years 
after he went to Abington, coming in 1873 to 
Wintman. His present [)lant was built in 
1894. The main building is two hundred 
and fifty feet long, the storehouse being two 
hundred feet. This factory has every kind 
of the most improved machinery which can 
be utilized in the manufacture of boxes, being 
one of the best in the country. 

In politics Mr. Atwood affiliates with the 
Republican party. I'ratcrnally, he is a mem- 
ber of Puritan Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Old 
Commandery, Knights Templars, Aleppo 
Tcmjile, of Boston; and Post Jt,, Grand 
Army of the Republic. In religion he sym- 
pathizes with the Unitarians. On September 
24, 1862, he was united in marriage with 
Angle F. W. Weston, of Plympton, Mass. 




APTAIN GFORGK II. BROWN, a 
master mariner of proved courage and 
capability, with a worthy personal 
record, was born in Rochester, now the town 
of Mariiin, I'h'inmitli County, October 12, 
I 84 1. His father, for many years a resident 
(if tills jilace, married Miss Hannah Blanken- 
ship, who bore him five children; namely, 
George H., Acldie, Jared, Mary F. , and 
Maria L. 

George H., the elder of the two sons, was 
reared and educated in Marion, attending both 
public and private schools. At the age of 
sixteen, fascinated by the thrilling tales of 



sea life so frequently spun in his hearing, he 
went on board the whaling vessel "Admiral 
Blake" as a common sailor, and for fifteen 
months cruised on the Atlantic Ocean. The 
following five months he spent on the coaster 
"Simpson Hart," being afterward on the brig 
"Samoset " ; and later he was in the merchant 
marine service, sailing on tiie Black Diamond 
Line to London. In 1871 he shijiped as 
quartermaster on the steamer "Alhanibra," 
plying between Boston and the British prov- 
inces, being away two months, and continued 
in that service for five years as second mate 
and mate. In 1881 he was given charge of the 
steamer "Carroll," which he commanded until 
1893, carrying jiassengers and freight from 
Boston to the British domains. For thirty-six 
years Captain Brown followed the sea, visiting 
many foreign ports and once doubling Cape 
Horn. He met with few accidents in his 
various ocean trips, his most serious disaster 
being in the fall of 18S8, when the good ship 
"Carroll" narrowly escaped wrecking, the 
pilot house being torn away. One mate was 
lost overboard, and the vessel came into 
Boston Harbor with its flag at half-mast. 
Since his retirement from the sea Captain 
Brown has not been engaged in active busi- 
ness pursuits. 

On March 29, 1871, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mary L. Handy, daughter of 
Noah D. and Cynthia F. Handy, of IMarion. 
Of the three children born to captain and 
Mrs. Brown, one, P'ranklin C, died March 
18, 1895; and two iiromising sons — William 
C. and George H. T. — are now living. Po- 
litically, the cajitain has the courage of his 
convictions, and votes independent of jiarty 
strictures. Socially, he is a member of two 
prominent organizations of Marion, belonging 
to Pythagorean Lodge, A. F. & A. ;\I., and 
to the Sons of Temperance. 



334 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




ILLIAM H. FEARINE, a well- 
to-do and highly respected agricult- 
urist of Wareham, Mass., was born 
December 22, 1835, in the house that he now 
occupies. Here also his father, William S. 
Fearine, and his grandfather, Benjamin B. 
Fearine, first opened their eyes to the light of 
this world, the former having been born De- 
cember 6, 1804, and the latter October 31, 
1755. This house has been built more than 
two hundred years, and has been occupied by 
several generations of the Fearine family, the 
first having been Isaiah Fearine, the great- 
great-grandfather of William H., and the next, 
Benjamin Fearine, his great-grandfather. 

William S. Fearine, son of Benjamin B., 
succeeded to the ownership of the paternal 
homestead, on which he resided during his 
entire life, being engaged in farming until his 
demise in 1861. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Hannah C. Barrows, bore him five 
children, namely: Elisha; William H. ; 
Charles W. ; Mary, the wife of William B. 
Goodall; and one who died in infancy. Will- 
iam H. and his sister Mary are the only sur- 
vivors. The father was active in the manage- 
ment of town affairs, and served as Treasurer 
and Collector several years. 

William H. Fearine, the second son, re- 
ceived his preliminary education in the dis- 
trict schools of Wareham, after which he at- 
tended a private school for a while, and then 
took a course of study at the academy in Meri- 
den, N.H. He remained on the home farm, 
becoming practically acquainted with its 
labors until twenty-four years old, when he 
established himself here in the mercantile 
business Disposing of his goods a few years 
later, Mr. Fearine returned for a while to the 
home farm, but was subsequently employed as 
a clerk for nine years by the Parker Mill Com- 
pany. He has since devoted his time to the 



cultivation of his land, owning a farm of about 
one hundred acres, on which he is engaged in 
the various branches of general agriculture. 

Mr. Fearine was married September, 1859, 
to Miss Delia A. Wing, daughter of Captain 
Benjamin Wing, and sister of George F. 
Wing, of Wareham. Of this union six chil- 
dren have been born, three of whom — Charles 
W., Flora M., and George C. — have passed 
to the life immortal. Those living are: An- 
janette D., William H., Jr., and Mary. In 
politics Mr. Fearine is identified with the 
Democratic party. He has served his fellow- 
townsmen as Clerk, Treasurer, and Collector 
since 1884, besides holding other positions of 
minor importance. He is likewise Justice of 
the Peace and Notary Public, and is a member 
of the American Legion of Honor. 



"irX EMERICK MARBLE, a retired car- 
l—— J riage manufacturer of Hingham 
c-^>^L^ Centre, Mass., was born October 7, 
1819, son of Demerick and Olive Allen 
(Easterbrook) Marble. Gershom Marble, 
"the progenitor of all who have borne this 
surname by birth in Hingham and vicinity, 
was in early life a mariner, and a temporary 
resident of Charlestown, Mass., where his first 
wife, Mary, died December 30, 1694." He 
subsequently removed to Hingham, where he 
resided on Beechwood Street; and in 1697 at 
Scituate he married Waitstill Ingle. He died 
August 6, 1725, aged sixty, survived by his 
second wife, who died in Hingham, November 
14, 1728. David, their fourth child, was 
born in 1706, and married December 27, 1732, 
Abigail Joy, who was born here March 22, 
1 71 3, daughter of Prince and Abigail (Tower) 
Joy. By this union there were four children, 
the second, Luther, born in 1735. He mar- 
ried Priscilla James, the date of whose baptism 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



335 



was May lo, 1741. Her parents were Thomas 
and Hannah (Holbrook) James. Luther Mar- 
ble was a mariner, and was lost at sea. 

James, the eldest of his four children, was 
born in Hingham, November 3, 1760, and 
married June 7, I7<^5, to Fannie Stodder, 
daughter of Kcubcii and I'llizalietii (Glover) 
Stodder. She was born here June 10, 1766, 
and survived him, subsequently marrying, 
April 24. 1S02, Reuben Thurston, who also 
died. June 12, i.So.S, she married John Hras- 
lin for her third husband. .She died August 3, 
1.S33. James Marble died April 26, 1801, at 
the age of forty. He was also a mariner, and 
resided on South Street. From his union 
with Flizabeth G. Stodder there were seven 
children. 

Demerick, first, the fifth child, was born 
here, July 18, 1794; and on December 7, 
1818, he formed a matrimonial alliance with 
Olive Allen Easterbrook, daughter of Gorham 
and Susanna (Gorham) Easterbrook. She was 
born at Barnstable, Mass., October 28, 1798, 
and died December 24, 1868, aged seventy 
years. Demerick Marble, first, was lost at 
sea in the schooner "Globe," of which he 
was Master, March 30, 1823. He left one 
child, his namesake, Demerick, the subject 
of this biography. 

Demerick Marble availed himself of the 
educational facilities afforded by the common 
schools, although he was not permitted to 
attend many seasons. At the age of fourteen 
and a half years he went to Boston to learn the 
painter's trade, remaining one year. fie then 
returned home, and in 1835 went to work at 
the carriage maker's trade. He was industri- 
ous, and had a successful business career in 
this enterprise for fifty-si.\ years, during 
forty-two of which he was in partnership with 
Hela H. Whiton. In 1891 he retired from the 
arena of business, but he is by no means idle. 



On July 31, 1S42, Mr. Marble was united 
in marriage with Deborah H. Gross, a daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Olive F. (Burr) Gross. Mrs. 
Marble was born in this town, June 35, 1823. 
She has had four children — William D., 
Thomas Burr, Arthur D., and Charles Hawkes. 
William D. Marlile was born in Weymouth, 
Mass., March 15, 1845, and died in Hingham, 
May 8, 1850. Thomas Burr Marble, born 
here November 2, 1848, died October 30, 
1851. Arthur Demerick Marble, born here 
April 10, 1853, is a civil engineer, and 
resides in Lawrence, Mass. He married 
Mary A. Richardson, and they have a bright 
young daughter, Marion Wright Marble. He 
is a natural artist, as his works bear evidence. 
He is likewise much interested in biograjihical 
work, and has compiled a number of interest- 
ing family sketches. Charles Hawkes, born 
in Hingham, July 11, 1858, married on July 
17, 1884, Estella I^., daughter of Reuben and 
Sarah J. (Dyer) Sprague. 

In politics Mr. Marble formerly affiliated 
with the I'ree Soil party, but since the Re 
publican party was organized he has voted 
continuously with that body. Officially, he 
has long been prominent, serving as Select- 
man and Assessor nine years, as Representa- 
tive in 1859 and i860, and now as Auditor. 
He has been a Trustee of the Hingham Insti- 
tution for Savings since 1877, and a Director 
of the Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany for a quarter of a century; and he also 
served as Overseer of the I'oor and on the 
School Board for a number of years. Frater- 
nally, he is a member of Old Colony Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., having taken the third degree 
in March, 1859. He joined the Old Colony 
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd I'"eIlows, 
about fifty years ago, and was an active mem-' 
ber thereof until the surrender of the charter 
to the Grand Lodge in 1853. 



336 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Personally, Mr. Marble is a man of strong 
convictions, and is very outspoken ; but he has 
respect for the opinions of others, and is highly 
esteemed in this conmiunity. Financially, he 
has acquired sufficient means to live comfort- 
ably, owning a fine residence besides other 
property. He was reared by a Baptist mother, 
but he is a man of liberal views, in religion 
being a Universalist who is inspired by the 
faith, which he is able and willing to discuss 
at all times. He now attends the First Uni- 
tarian Church, where his father and ancestors 
formerly worshipped, and affiliates cordially 
with the society. 



Ji 



AVID H. CANNON, M.D., a pop- 
ular physician of Mattapoisett, was 
born in this town, October 19, 1843. 
His parents were James and Elizabeth (Cobb) 
Cannon. The father was a native of Matta- 
poisett, the mother of Marion ; and David was 
their only child. 

He acquired his early education in the pub- 
lic schools of his native town and in Peirce 
Academy at Middleboro. Before settling 
down to the serious preparation necessary for 
his professional career, he travelled consider- 
ably, and engaged in different lines of industry, 
his experience giving him a broad acquaint- 
ance with human life and character. When 
he was nineteen years of age, he shipped as 
a seaman on a whaling vessel, which was out 
thirteen months cruising in the Atlantic 
Ocean. In 1866 he taught school in Jackson 
County, Ohio; and, returning to Mattapoisett 
in the spring of 1867, in the fall of the same 
year he shipped as a sailor on a merchant 
vessel bound for Holland and England. This 
trip consumed almost a year, and after his 
return he was in the mercantile business for a 
year. He then took up the study of medicine 



with Dr. William W. Sweat, of Mattapoisett, 
with whom he was associated some three years; 
and he was graduated at Harvard in 1873. 
Opening an office at Acushnet, or Long 
Plain, he practised there until the autumn of 
1882; and for three years following he was in 
practice at Harwich. In the autumn of 1885 
he settled in Mattapoisett, where he has a 
large and successful practice. 

Dr. Cannon was married in 1875 to Miss 
Elizabeth F. Gibbs Hoyt, and has three chil- 
dren — Ethel F. , Susan B., and Celia G. A 
Republican in politics, he is popular with 
both parties, and has been elected to a number 
of public offices. He is at present Inspector 
of Horses and Cattle for the town of Matta- 
poisett. He has been a member of the Board 
of Health for seven years, and a member of the 
School Board for eight years. He is affiliated 
with the Masonic order, belonging to Pytha- 
gorean Lodge of Marion, and with the Har- 
vard Club of New Bedford. Dr. Cannon is a 
member of the Methodist church. 




EV. DAVID B. FORD, a retired 
clergyman of Hanover, Plymouth 
^ V ^ _ ^ County. Mass., was born in Scitu- 
ate, Mass., son of Michael and Sarah (Jacobs) 
Ford. He was reared on a farm in his native 
town, and, after attending the district school, 
fitted for college at Hanover Academy, subse- 
quently, in 1 841, going to Brown University, 
Providence, R.I. Four years later he was 
graduated from that institution, and entered 
Newton Theological School, being graduated 
therefrom three years afterward. In 1848 and 
1849 he was assistant instructor of Hebrew in 
Newton. Being ordained pastor of the Can- 
ton Baptist church, he was settled there for 
three years, returning in 1854 to the old 
homestead, where he lived until 1885. Dur- 




JEREMIAH T. RICHMOND. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



339 



ing the mean time he had preached at Marsh- 
field, Mass. ; and lie has resided in Hanover 
since that time. Mr. Ford is a man of 
literary ability, having been the author of sev- 
eral books and pamphlets, among which are: 
"Studies on the l^aptismal Question," pub- 
lished in 1879; "Centennial History of the 
First Haptist Church of Marshfield, " in 1888; 
and in conjunction with A. N. Arnold he 
issued in 1889 a "Commentary on Romans." 
"The Life-work of Isaac Backus" and "New 
England's Struggles for Religious Liberty," 
the former published in 1893 and the latter in 
1896, are also among his works. He has 
given up preaching, and now devotes his time 
mostly to denominational publications. In 
1859 Mr. Ford was united in marriage with 
Lavina Sherman, of Marshfield, by whom he 
has had five children: Thomas A., who died 
in infancy; Angela B. ; Chauncy D. ; Edith 
G. ; and Howard I. 




"ON. JEREMIAH TINKHAM RICH- 
MOND, who was in the Massachu- 
setts legislature in 1892-93, is one 
of the foremost citizens of Abington, actively 
interested in business, political, and social 
affairs. He was born in Taunton, Mass., 
March 24, 1829, a son of Ruel and Reliance 
(Tinkham) Richmond. The father was a 
well-to-do farmer on the banks of the Taunton 
River. He died September 8, 1879, i" his 
seventy-si.\th year. The mother died April 3, 
1844, in her thirty-fifth year. They had eight 
children. The four now living are as follows: 
Jeremiah Tinkham, of Abington; Charles Ev- 
erett, born June [7, 1833; Zeruah Frances, 
born September 6, 1835; Mary Ann, born 
June 28, 1842, all natives of Taunton. 

Jeremiah Tinkham Richmond, the eldest of 
the four, and the special subject of this bio- 



graphical sketch, was educated in public and 
private schools in Taunton. At about the age 
of twenty-two he entered into the retail shoe 
business in Taunton. In 1864 he removed to 
Abington, where he entered the employ of 
Nash & Jones, shoe manufacturers, having 
charge of the machinery. He set up and 
operated the first New Era pegging machine 
in this county. The firm soon after changed 
to Nash & Beal, Mr. Richmond remaining in 
their employ for a period of si.xteen years. 
He invariably transacted all business in- 
trusted to his care in such a way as to win the 
confidence of those by whom he was employed. 
He is now Trustee and Auditor of the Abing- 
ton Savings Bank, and a Director of the Elec- 
tric Light and Power Company of Abington 
and Rockland. 

Mr. Richmond was married May 26, 1S51, 
to Miss Almira H. Dean, of Raynham, Ma.ss., 
daughter of O. S. and Lodicea (Hall) Dean. 
Her grandfather, Seth Dean, was an officer in 
the Revolutionary army. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Richmond six children were born, five of 
whom are living: Frank R. ; Alice D., wife 
of H. A. Beal; Clara M., wife of W. C. Lean; 
Charles O. ; and George T. The youngest, 
Jesse H., was born November 6, 1865, and 
died January, 1884. Mr. Richmond has eight 
grandchildren, as follows: Walter Tinkham 
Richmond, born November 9, 1888, son of 
Frank R. ; Helen Reed Beal, born March 13. 
1885; and Mira Dean Beal. born June 25, 
1887— children of H. A. Beal; Jessie L. 
Richmond, born March 26, 1883; and Grace 
Evelyn Richmond, born May 30, 1S91 — chil- 
dren of Charles O. Richmond; Alice R. 
Lean, born October 10, 18S4; Edith Moulton 
Lean, born September 3, 1889 — children of 
William C. Lean; Louis Hall Richmond, 
born August 30, 1885, son of George T. 
Richmond — all living in Abington except- 



34° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing the children of Charles O. Richmond, 
who live in Whitman. 

In politics Mr. Richmond is a Republican, 
lie has efficiently served the ]Dublic in a 
number of important offices. While in the 
legislature, he was on the Committee on 
Prisons, in 1892 and 1893 he was a member 
of the Town Board of Registrars, and he has 
been for some time on the School Committee 
of Abington. As a Mason, he is a member 
of John Cutler Lodge and Pilgrim Royal Arch 
Chapter; and he is Past Commander of Old 
Colony Commandery, Knights Templars. An 
active member of "the Congregational church, 
he was for ten years superintendent of the 
Sunday-school. 




•AMUEL C. STETSON, of Marsh- 
field, is one of the most highly re- 
spected citizens of the place, a self- 
made man, who has accumulated a com- 
petency, and is spending his declining years 
in quiet retirement. He was born March 30, 
1823, in Hanover, Mass., which was also the 
birthplace of his parents, Samuel and Lydia 
(Thayer) Stetson. 

The founder of the family in Plymouth 
County was Cornet Robert Stetson, an English- 
man from Kent, who received a grant of land 
on the North River in the town of Scituate in 
1634. He became a noted Indian fighter, and 
it was in military service in the colonies that 
he earned the title of cornet. Samuel C. 
Stetson's grandfather, Nathaniel Stetson, was 
a native of Hanover, Mass., and lived for a 
number of years in that town. Two of his 
sons, uncles of Samuel C, served in the War 
of 1812. 

Samuel Stetson was a farmer; and, besides 
tilling the soil, he followed mechanical pur- 
suits. He lived for some time in Kennebec 



County, Maine, and moved from there to Pem- 
broke, Mass., and thence to Marshfield, where 
he died in 1876. In politics he was an old- 
line Democrat. Of his children, two are dead 
— Lydia T. and Catherine A. ; and three are 
living, namely: Julia A., widow of Alfred 
Belcher, of Randolph, Mass. ; Samuel C, the 
only son; and Eliza T., widow of Henry T. 
Crossley, an English gentleman. 

Samuel C. Stetson was about six years old 
when his parents removed to the State of 
Maine. As they remained there and subse- 
quently in Hanover but a short time, he 
acquired his education mainly in Pembroke, 
Mass., where he grew to maturity. He at- 
tended the common schools in the winter sea- 
son until about fourteen years of age, and the 
knowledge gained in boyhood has been supple- 
mented by extensive reading and practical 
business experience. He remained on the 
farm until about eighteen years of age, and 
then learned boot and shoe making. This 
trade he followed for over thirty-five years, at 
the same time managing a farm; but he event- 
ually gave his whole time and attention to the 
pursuit of agriculture. In the fall of 1892, 
retiring from active work, he left the farm, 
and moved to the village of Marshfield, where 
he has since lived, enjoying the leisure earned 
through long years of industry and prudent 
management. 

Mr. Stetson was married Noveiiiber 3, 1850, 
to Susan W. Sprague, a native of Marshfield, 
daughter of Luther and Lydia (Lewis) 
Sprague, both of this town. Mr. Sprague, 
who was a carpenter, died in 1842. Mrs. 
Stetson has a sister and brother living, 
namely: Mary P., widow of Jeremiah Estey, 
of Sharon, Mass. ; and L. Edward Sprague, in 
Marshfield. She is the mother of two chil- 
dren: Susan A., wife of E. Melvin Sampson, 
of Brockton, Mass. ; and Lydia E., deceased. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



34' 



Mr. Stetson, like his father, is a member of 
the Democratic party. He is a Mason, be- 
lon<(ing to Corner Stone Lodge of Duxbury, 
Mass. His circle of acquaintance is a wide 
one, and among the residents of Marshfield 
none are more highly esteemed than he and 
his wife. 




k\r'Al/ARRKN B. SMITH, Cashier of the 
Home National Hank of Brockton, 
Mass., was born in I'rovincetown, 
Barnstable County, February lo, 1859, a son 
of William VV. and Mary C. (Johnson) Smith. 
His father was a native of Barnstable, Mass., 
iiis mother, of I'rovincetown. His family is 
well known on the Cape, his maternal grand- 
father, Timothy B. Johnson, having settled in 
I'rovincetown at an early date. This worthy 
citizen, who \\!a.s a sail-maker, followed his 
trade there for many years, also dealing in 
ship stores, and was prominent among the 
business men of the place. He died at the 
age of sixty years. His wife, formerly a Miss 
Betsey Hager, of Waltham, Mass., bore him 
eleven children, six of whom are now living. 

William W. Smith, son of Timothy, and 
father of Warren B., was a boat-builder, and 
followed his trade in I'rovincetown for forty- 
five years. He was a first-class workman, 
and, besides building many whale boats and 
seine boats, he built a number of life-boats for 
the government. He died in 1895, at the age 
of si.xty-si.x. He and his wife reared but two 
children: Warren B. , the subject of this 
sketch; and Willie M., who lives in Salem, 
Mass, 

Warren B. Smith obtained his education in 
I'rovincetown, leaving the high school at the 
age of seventeen, to accept the position of 
clerk in the Seaman's Savings Bank in his 
native place. After five years of competent 
service there he resigned in 1881, to take the 



place of book-keeper in the Home National 
Bank of Brockton, with which he has now been 
connected some fifteen years, winning the con- 
fidence of all with whom he has had dealings. 
He was promoted from the office of book- 
keeper to that of receiving and paying teller 
of the bank, and in 1894 he assumed the duties 
of cashier, to which he has since given his at- 
tention. He is a man of ability and integrity, 
eminently fitted for the responsible position 
which he holds. 

On March 12, 1884, Mr. Smith married 
Stella Fish, daughter of Silas D. Fish, of 
Provincetown. Mrs. Smith was born in Hy- 
annis, Mass. She is the mother of two chil- 
dren — Minnie Warren and Rosamond Grey. 
Mr. Smith takes no active interest" in politics, 
preferring to devote his best energies to busi- 
ness. He is a member of the Commercial 
Club of Brockton, and belongs also to Paul 
Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Satucket 
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He attends 
Unity Church (Unitarian) of Brockton. 




NDREW M. WOOD, Treasurer of the 
Middleboro Savings Bank, was born 
in Middleboro, Plymouth County, 
Mass., May 22, 1853, son of Andrew Cobb 
and Lucy Ann (Miller) Wood, and comes of 
old Colonial stock, numbering among his 
remote ancestors Caj^tain Miles Standish, the 
famous military leader of the Pilgrims; also 
John and Priscilla Alden, whose daughter 
Sarah was the wife of Alexander Standish, 
son of Miles. The line was thus continued: 
Ebenezer, son of Alexander and Sarah Stan- 
dish, was the father of Moses Standish, whose 
daughter Sarah married Iqihraim Tinkham; 
and Sarah Tinkham, their daughter, married 
Peter Wood, and was the mother of David 
Wood, who married Olive Cobb. The last- 



342 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



named couple were the jjarents of Andrew 
Cobb Wood, the father of the subject of this 
sketch. Their home was in Middleboro. 

Andrew Cobb Wood, who was a man of 
much practical ability and force of character, 
was in trade for a number of years, dealing in 
wood and lumber, and was quite successful 
financially. A very popular citizen, he was 
elected to several offices of trust on the Re- 
publican ticket. For many years he was 
Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the 
Poor; and he represented the town in the 
State legislature in 1865 and 1866. He died 
in February, 1S96, nine days before his 
eighty-second birthday. His wife, who is 
now seventy-nine years of age, is living with 
her son Andrew M. Her parents were Alden 
and Millison (Lovell) Miller, of Middleboro. 

Andrew M. Wood acquired his education in 
the schools of his native town, including the 
high school and Peirce Academy. He earned 
his first wages in a store, was next employed 
for thirteen years in the Bay State Straw 
Works, and then assumed the duties of his 
present position. Treasurer of Middleboro 
Savings Bank, to which he was appointed in 
1885. Mr. Wood is an able accountant, and 
his character and social qualities are such that 
his relations with all are pleasant, wherefore 
it is deemed desirable to keep him in the posi- 
tion he now occupies. 

Mr. Wood was married November 30, 1875, 
to Miss L. Ardelle Perkins, daughter of Isaac 
and Betsy (Pratt) Perkins, both of whom be- 
longed to old representative families of North 
Middleboro. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have one 
child — Theodore N., born March 9, 1881. 

In political preference Mr. Wood is a Re- 
publican. He is a member of the Board of 
Overseers of the Poor, and is at present act- 
ing as clerk of that body, having been elected 
to fill a vacancy. He has also been clerk of I 



the Middleboro Fire District for seven years. 
In all his official duties he displays keenness 
of perception, soundness of judgment, and 
strict integrity of purpose. 



(SThec 



HEODORE LILLEY, a skilled shoe 
^1 worker of Brockton, was born in 18 19, 
son of Joseph and Arathusia (Lovejoy) 
Lilley. He is a descendant of a family whose 
members were distinguished for bravery during 
the Revolutionary War. His grandfather lost 
a leg at Bunker Hill, afterward fought under 
command of the renowned Paul Jones, and 
continued to serve until the close of the war. 
His wife lived to be eighty-six years of age. 
They had five children, all of whom lived to 
be old but Joseph, the father of the subject of 
this sketch. He was a ship-carpenter by 
trade, and had some military experience, being 
taken prisoner by the Indians during the War 
of 1812. He married Miss Lovejoy, an Eng- 
lishwoman, by whom he had two children: 
Thomas, who is now eighty years old, and a 
resident of Somerville, Mass.; and Theodore. 
Joseph Lilley died in 1822, and his wife about 
eight years later. He had a brother, John 
Lilley, who was in the cane and umbrella 
business in Boston for half a century, his sign 
being one of the oldest in the business sec- 
tion. His sons now continue the enterprise. 
Theodore Lilley, direct subject of this sketch, 
was educated in the public schools of Brock- 
ton and Boston. Left an orphan at the age of 
eleven by his mother's death, he began to seek 
means of self-support, and applied himself to 
learn shoemaking, which he mastered in all 
its details. He has followed his trade for over 
sixty years, and has been a resident of this 
city since 1831. During all this period he 
has never had occasion to strike for higher 
wages. In politics he was at first afifiliated 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



343 



witli tlic Wliij^s, hut later lu'canic a member 
of the Republican party. 

Mr. Lilley has been twice married, iiis first 
wile havini;' been Annie R., daiij^liter of 
Charles Keith, of Campcllo. She died Janu- 
ary 21, 1882. She had three children, two of 
whom are now livini^ in the W'est — Clara 
Anna, at IMne Mound, 111.; ami Mary Alice, 
who lives in Decatur, 111. Clara Anna 
married F"rederick H. Henshie, February i, 
1870, and has two adopted children. Mr. 
Henshie has served as Postmaster, Alder- 
man, Town Treasurer, and has held other 
positions of trust and responsibility. Mary 
Alice married John G. Harvey, of Kentucky, 
October 29, 1866. Mrs. Harvey has three 
living chiUlrcn — Ellis T., horn January ig, 
1870; William Keith, born December 26, 
1 87 1 ; and -Allx-rt (i. , born September 5, 
1874. Mr. Lilley's second matrimonial alli- 
ance was formed December 10, 1884, with 
Mrs. Frances A. I'rescott, of Wakefield, who 
was born in Washington, Me., daughter of 
Andrew and Mary Sukeworth, of Washing- 
ton, Me. Her first husband died December 
21, 1881. Mr. Lilley is now practically re- 
tired from business, but still continues to 
look after his real estate. 




i 



APTAIN EI.ISHA P. SPRAGUF, 
a retired ship-master of Marshfield, 
has visited nearly every known 
quarter of the globe; and his mind is richly 
stored with general information and interest- 
ing anecdote. He was born in Du.xbury, 
Mass., November 20, 1822, a son of Captain 
Jonathan and Ruth (Phillips) Sprague. Cap- 
tain Jonathan Sprague, who was a son of Jona- 
than Sjirague, of Marshfield, was born and 
reared in this town. He followed the sea for 
a number of years, and had a varied experience 



in the coasting, the West India, and th</ 
foreign trade. He died in 1832. Two of his 
children are living: lilisha P., the subject of 
this sketch; and Angelinc M., who.se home is 
at Marshfield Hills, Mass. 

Klisha P. Sp,rague was ten years of age 
when his father died. He was educated in the 
common schools of Duxbury, remaining at 
home until he was si.xteen years old. Then, 
adopting the vocation followed by his father, 
he took to the sea, and in ten years passed 
through the various grades of promotion to the 
rank of captain. Among the vessels which 
he commanded were the brig "Trenton," of 
Du.xbury, on which he sailed for five years, 
making a number of foreign voyages; the 
bark "Tallyho," trading between Archangel, 
Russia, and Boston, Mass.; the ship "Ocean 
Kagle, " trading between Calcutta, India, anti 
Boston; the ship "Meteor," on which he made 
one voyage, between Boston and Mediterranean 
ports; the "Josiah Ouincy," of which he was 
master some five years, making a number of 
foreign voyages; and the ship "Marshall," 
which was in his charge about a year and a 
half. This vessel was captured at the time of 
the war at New Orleans by the Confederates, 
and was burned by them. His last vessel, the 
"Merchant," which was engaged in foreign 
trade, was in his charge some eight years. 
Captain Sprague retired from the sea in 1870, 
and has since spent most of his time in his 
pleasant home in Marshfield. From his quiet 
retreat here he can look back to stirring 
scenes in his younger days; and his knowledge 
of the world and of all classes of humanity is 
an unending source of pleasure to himself and 
others. 

Captain Sprague has been twice married. 
His first wife, Sarah T. Stevens, who was 
born here, March 15, 1828, died April 26, 
1849; and on October i, 1853, he was united 



344 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



with Lucy A. Cushman, of Duxbury, who was 
born August 7, 1835, daughter of Briggs and 
Lucy (Keen) Cushman, who were both natives 
of that town. Mr. Cushman, who was a car- 
penter, died in 1883. By his second union 
the captain has two sons: Francis B., born 
October 25, 1854, at South Framingham, 
Mass.; and Marshall P., born Sejjtember 2, 
i860, in South Weymoutii, Mass.; and one 
daughter, Nellie R., who was born September 
8, 1865, and died June 6, 1868. 

Captain Sprague votes the Republican 
ticket. He is a Mason, belonging to Corner 
Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Duxbury. 
Mrs. Sprague is a member of the Congrega- 
tional church and of the Ladies' ]5enevolent 
Society connected with it. The captain and 
his wife take an active interest in all social 
events of importance in the town, and are very 
popular members of the community. 




ILLIAM E. SPARROW, M.D., 

has been actively engaged in the 
practice of medicine in Mattapoisctt 
for nearly half a century, and has also long 
been identified with the business and political 
life of the place. He was born in the adjoin- 
ing town of Rochester, April 21, 1824, a son 
of Josiah and Minerva (Millen) Sparrow. 
His early boyhood was passed on a farm; and, 
when he was sixteen years old, he entered a 
drug store in Mattapoisett, where he was em- 
ployed as clerk until his professional studies 
were completed. 

When he was eighteen years of age, he began 
to study medicine with Dr. Newton South- 
worth, of this town; and in 1847 he entered 
Yale College, where he was graduated in 1848. 
He immediately started in on professional 
work, and had established a good practice 
in Mattapoisett when the war broke out. 



Answering the call for surgeons, he was 
located at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Mo., 
in 1863, and in 1864 was in Virginia, and was 
acting assistant surgeon, following Grant in 
the hospitals. This military hospital practice 
made him an expert in the most difficult cases 
of surgery, and also broadened his experience 
in treating fevers and other diseases incident 
to army life, so that, when he returned to his 
quiet Mattapoisett home, few physicians in the 
locality could compete with him in profes- 
sional knowledge and skill. Dr. Sparrow has 
been for many years proprietor of a drug store 
in this town. In 1867 he undertook the man- 
agement of some lumber-mills in the town of 
Marion, which are yet under his control; and 
for fifteen years he has been interested in 
cranberry culture, owning extensive meadows 
in Marion. 

Dr. Sparrow was first married in 1S52 to 
Sophronia S. Holmes. She tiled in 1S65, 
leaving four children — William E., Jr., Eliz- 
abeth H., Solomon E. , and Frank Miller. 
The eldest son, William E. Sparrow, Jr., 
qualified as a civil engineer, but is now en- 
gaged in manufacturing in New Bedford; 
Elizabeth .Sparrow is the wife of Ward P. Del- 
ano, of Worcester; and Solomon E. Sparrow 
is a graduate of West Point, and holds the 
rank of Lieutenant in the United States 
Army. The youngest son, Frank M. Spar- 
row, is a graduate of Harvard, and is now a 
practising attorney in New Bedford. Dr. 
Sparrow contracted a second marriage in 186S 
with Mrs. Eliza Harding, daughter of George 
Dunham, of Martha's Vineyard, but has no 
children by this union. 

In political matters he favors the Republi- 
can side. He was first appointed to public 
office in 1856, when he was made Deputy 
Postmaster of Mattapoisett. In this capacity 
he served until 1866, when, the Postmaster, 




EDMUND HERSEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



347 



Benjamin F. Uarstovv, dying. Dr. Sparrow 
succeedecl him, and was in office until 1893. 
lie has been a member of the Town Board of 
Health for forty-five years, and a member of 
the School Committee for more than twenty 
years. Dr. Sparrow attends tlie Congrega- 
tional church. 



ISAAC GILMAN STETSON, a retired 
merchant and the present Postmaster of 
South Hanover, was born in tlie town of 
Tembroke, Plymouth County, Mass., August 
7, 1826, son of Isaac O. and Emily (Josselyn) 
Stetson, he being the only child. 

He was educated in the district school and 
at Hanover Academy. He remained at home 
until 1859, then came to South Hanover, and 
entered the store of V.. \. Perry as clerk. 
After a few years he purchased an interest in 
the business, and the firm name was changed 
to E. Y. Perry & Co. Mr. Stetson subse- 
quently bought out Mr. Perry's interest, and 
conducted the store alone. In 1870 he erected 
the store now occupied by E. W. Phillips, 
where he carried on a successful general mer- 
cantile business until 1890, a period of 
twenty years. Although he then retired from 
trade, he still continues to hold the office 
of Postmaster, in which capacity he has now 
served for thirty-five years. This anil the 
management of his farm occupy his time quite 
fully. In 1846, fifty years ago, Mr. Stetson 
was joined in marriage with Miss Jane R. 
Oldham, daughter of A. \V. Oldham, of Pem- 
broke. Three of their four children are living, 
namely: Emily, wife of S. W. Bailey; b'red ; 
and Grace, the wife of E. \V. Phillips. Their 
other child, Mary, died in infancy. 

Mr. Stetson is a Republican politically, 
and in 1S85 was a member of tiie .State legis- 
lature. He has also served as Selectman for 



about ten years, being for a portion of that 
time Chairman of the Board. 




DMUND IIERSEY, of Hingham, in- 
structor in farming at the Bussey In- 
stitution in Jamaica Plain, the 
School of Agriculture and Horticulture con- 
nected with Harvard University, and superin- 
tendent of the Bussey P'arm, was born in 
Hingham, August 7, 1823, son of .Samuel E. 
and Persis (Hobart) Hcrsey. 

The original founder of the family in 
America was William Hersey, who emigrated 
from Ivngland in 1635, and in the fall of that 
year settled in Hingham. He became identi- 
fied with the town government, and was promi- 
nent in its affairs until his death, which took 
place in 1657 or 1658. His wife, PZlizabcth, 
died in 1671. Their son John was born in 
Hingham, and iiere followed the trade of a 
tailor for the greater part of his active life. 
He was serving as a Constable in 1701, and 
he died at the age of eighty-si.\ years. His 
wife, Sarah, a native of Dedham, Mass., lived 
to be eighty-three years old. They were the 
parents of eleven children; and of these 
Daniel, the next in line, was the eighth. 

Daniel Hersey was born in Hingiiam, as 
was each succeeding ancestor down to the sub- 
ject of this sketch; ami his wife, whose 
maiden name was Mary Mays, is thought to 
have been a native of tiiis town. He was a 
cooper by trade, and he also carried on farm- 
ing. The house he lived in is still standing 
on Hersey Street, in a good state of preserva- 
tion. Daniel and Mary Hersey reared a fam- 
ily of five children, Isaiah, Mr. Edmund Her- 
sey's great-grandfather, being the fourth-born. 
He was a cooper and a farmer, ami he lived to 
be eighty-two years old. He wedded Margaret 
Sprague, of Hingham, a descendant of William 



348 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Sprague, an early settler; and they were the 
parents of eight children, of whom Reuben, 
the next in line, was the youngest. The 
mother lived to the age of eighty-eight years. 

Reuben Hersey, grandfather of Edmund, 
followed the cooper's trade in connection with 
farming, and was eighty-eight years old when 
he died. He was a member of the Unitarian 
church, and in politics was a Jacksonian Dem- 
ocrat. Me married Mary French, a native of 
Weymouth, Mass.; and they reared a family 
of si.\ children, of whom Samuel F. , above 
named, was the second-born. Mrs. Mary F. 
Hersey died at the age of sixty-four years. 

Samuel F. Hersey was a lifelong resident of 
Hingham; and, like his ancestors, he learned 
the cooper's trade, which he followed to some 
extent. He was, however, particularly inter- 
ested in agriculture as a science; and, as an 
experimental farmer, he derived considerable 
local notoriety. He attained the advanced 
age of ninety-three years. His wife, Persis 
Hobart, became the mother of four children, 
as follows: Persis, who was born in 1814, 
married Isaac Cothrell, of Hingham, and is the 
mother of six children — namely, Isaac, Eliza- 
beth, Sarah, Albion, Edward, and Addie; 
Mary French, who was born in 18 16, married 
Elijah C. Cothrell, of this town, and has three 
children living — namely, Elijah L., Reuben 
H., and Nellie; Samuel, who was born in 
1820, whose wife, Ciseline Stoddard, of Hing- 
ham, died leaving no children; and Edmund, 
the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Persis 
Hobart Hersey lived to be seventy-six years 
old. Representatives of each generation of 
the Hersey family were members of the old 
First Church, whose earliest pastor was the 
Rev. Peter Hobart. It is a fact worthy of 
mention that representatives of five genera- 
tions of the family have erected dwellings on 
Hersey Street, the origin of whose name is 



obvious; and all of these houses are still 
owned in the family. Daniel built in 1730; 
Isaiah, in 1753; Reuben, in 1776; Samuel 
F., in 181 3; Cedar Hedge was erected by Ed- 
mund Hersey in 185 1; and Reuben H. Coth- 
rell has also built a residence on Hersey 
Street — and all are within a quarter of a mile 
of each other. 

lulmund Hersey was educated in the public 
schools of Hingham; and, when a young man, 
he learned the trade of a cooper and box-maker 
with his father. He continued to work as a 
journeyman for some years ; and in 1848 he 
invented a machine for the manufacture of 
boxes, which revolutionized the trade. This 
invention, which practically did away with 
hand work in the box manufacturing business, 
is now used in all factories throughout the 
country; and after introducing it, and assuring 
himself of its success, its inventor relin- 
quished mechanical pursuits. Mr. Hersey 
next entered the field of journalism as agri- 
cultural editor of the Masstn-fiiisctts Plough- 
man, and remained vvith that well-known 
paper for eight years. 

At an early age he displayed a taste and 
capacity for agricultural pursuits; and, when 
nineteen years old, he began to make scientific 
experiments upon a small plot of ground given 
him by his uncle. As he grew older, he de- 
veloped his genius in this direction, and 
acquired a vast amount of practical knowledge 
relating to the elementary principles and ad- 
vanced methods of agriculture. His home- 
stead property in Hingham consists of fifty 
acres, which has afforded him ample opportu- 
nity to forward and accomplish many impor- 
tant experiments; and probably there is not a 
more able, progressive, and successful agri- 
cultural scientist in the State to-day than is 
Mr. Hersey. In 1890 he became connected 
with the Bussey Institution in Jamaica Plain, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



349 



a department of Harvard University; and lie is 
now instructor in the theory and practice of 
farming;, and superintendent of Bussey I'"arm, 
wiiicli is used for cxiierimentai purposes. 

Mr. llersey lias been twice married. 1 1 is 
first wife was Mary C. Ilobart, dau<;iiter of 
Kbed Hobart, of Hingham. She died at the 
age of sixty-one years, leaving one daughter, 
Fanny, who was born in 1S54, and is the wife 
of James K. Perry, of I'epperell, Mass., and 
mother of two daughters — • Lizzie 1''. and 
Lillie. Mr. Mersey's present wife was before 
marriage Clara S. Sherman. She is a native 
of Scituate, Mass. By this union there are 
no children. 

Mr. Mersey has been a member of the 
Massachusetts l?oard of Agriculture twenty- 
one years, and is to-day the oldest elective 
member of the Board. I'"or five years, by 
unanimous election, he was President of the 
Agricultural Society of Mingham; and for ten 
years he was also Trustee of the Mingham 
Savings Institution. In politics Mr. Mersey 
is a Republican. He has held several impor- 
tant oflfices, and was Overseer of the Poor for 
some years. Me was for three years State 
statistician, and in that period he greatly im- 
proved the system of obtaining statistics. He 
is a man of original ideas, who possesses the 
skill to prove their utility ; ami lor the past 
six years, as agricultural editor of the OM 
Faniur's Ahnaiuic, he has placed many of 
them within reach of the jjractical farmers of 
this Commoinvealth. 




lUTHl'R WHITE, contractor and 
builder, of Marsh field, Mass., was 
born in Plymouth, Mass., April 13, 
1829, a son of Thomas !•". and Hannah 
(Clarke) White. Mc. White is a scion of one 
of the old Pilgrim families fann)us in the his- 



tory of the Bay State, being the seventh in 
lineal descent from Peregrine White, the first 
child of iMiglish parentage born within N'ew 
England limits, whose birthplace, it will be 
remembered, was the cabin of the "May- 
flower," then at anchor in IVovincetown Har- 
bor. He was named Peregrine to commemo- 
rate the wanderings or peregrinations of the 
Pilgrim fathers and mothers. Peregrine 
White married .Sarah Bassett ; and their son 
Daniel was the father of Benjamin and grand- 
father of Benjamin White, Jr., who was the 
father of Luther, first, and great-grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch. Thomas F. 
White, who was a son of the first Luther, was 
born and reared in Marshfield. He devoted 
his life to the pursuit of agriculture, and was 
also engaged in teaming to some extent. His 
death occurred in Ajiril, 1889. Mrs. White, 
who was born in Plymouth, died in Marsh- 
field in 1876. They were the parents of the 
following children : Mary, wife of Thomas 
Thurber, of Attleboro, Mass. ; Luther, the 
subject of this sketch; Peregrine F"., now in 
Worcester, Mass. ; Sarah, wife of Henry Bos- 
worth, of Pembroke, Mass. ; liidward, living in 
Ouincy, Mass. ; Betsey, widow of George J. 
Peterson, of Marshfield ; and Hannah T. and 
Mehitable M., deceased. 

Luther White was educated in Marshfield, 
his parents removing from Plymouth to this 
town when he was fi\e years old. Mis school- 
ing was limited to the winter sessions of the 
district school, and ended when he was sixteen 
years old. At the age of seventeen he began 
to learn the carjicnter's trade at Dorchester, 
Mass., with David Bartlett, a well-known 
builder of that place, and served four years; 
and he afterward worked for Mr. Bartlett as a 
journeyman some twelve years. He remained 
in the vicinity of Dorchester until 1876, re- 
turning then to MarshfieUl, where he has now 



35° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



made his home for twenty years in succession. 
As a contractor and builder, Mr. White has the 
confidence of the public. He has finished a 
number of important contracts, including resi- 
dences at Brant Rock and Green Harbor and 
the Ventress Memorial Hall in Marshfield, 
now the town hall and high school. Mr. 
White has made his own way in life, winning 
the general respect always accorded success. 
He married Miss Mary A. Church, daughter 
of the late John Church, of Pembroke, Mass. 
Mr. White votes the Republican ticket. He 
is a public-spirited citizen, always in favor of 
progress and improvement. 




jAPTAIN JAMES BURGESS, a prom- 
inent citizen of Wareham, Mass., son 
of John and Hitty (Linnell) Bur- 
gess, formerly of Orleans, Mass., has followed 
the sea for forty-seven years, and is now living 
at ease on the farm where he was born, Octo- 
ber 5, 1815. On this farm the earlier days 
of his boyhood were spent ; and the educational 
advantages with which he began active life 
were very scanty, the fund of knowledge which 
he now possesses having been mostly acquired 
in the inductive school of experience. When 
only twelve years of age, he shipped as boy on 
a coasting vessel, and in course of time was 
advanced to the position of able seaman. He 
was in the coasting trade nine years, or until 
he was twenty-one, and became very familiar 
with the Atlantic shore. He then shipped 
as mate of a merchant vessel at Boston, and 
ten years later he was captain of a merchant- 
man. In this capacity he sailed for twenty 
years, visiting many parts of the globe and 
doubling Cape Horn several times. 

In all this period he never lost a vessel, and 
he established a reputation for reliability that 
was worth more than his salary. When he 



became captain, he purchased shares in the 
vessels which he sailed, and was soon in com- 
mand of an inde[)endent income. In 1874 he 
returned to the paternal farm, his birthplace, 
which has now been his permanent home for 
twenty-six years. He has thirty acres of land, 
and is very comfortably and pleasantly situ- 
ated. Captain Burgess won success by his own 
unaided ability and strength of purpose, stur- 
dily working his way upward, beginning as a 
penniless ship boy, and gradually attaining his 
present prosperity. 

He was married April 27, 1856, to Miss 
Margery J. Robinson, of Nova Scotia, who 
died February 3, 1877, leaving one child, Jnhn 
S. ; and he subsequently married, March 20, 
1878, Miss Helen M. Baker, daughter of Mark 
Baker, of North Conway, N.H. He has no 
children by his second union. Captain Bur- 
gess votes the Republican ticket, but takes no 
active part in politics. He is a member of 
Social Harmony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Wareham. One of the oldest citizens of the 
town, he is widely known and highly re- 
spected. 

« * ■ » > 

/STkORGE M. BAKER has long been an 
\ I^T honored citizen of Marshfield, his 
native place. He was born February 
2, 1820, and is a son of George and Becky 
(Snell) Baker. His grandfather. Major Eli- 
jah Baker, served in the Revolutionary War. 
His father, George Baker, who was born in 
Duxbury, Mass., resided for a number of years 
in Marshfield, following the carpenter's trade 
and also acting as auctioneer. He was an 
officer in the State militia, and was familiarly 
known as Major George Baker. In politics he 
was a Whig. He died in 1S3S. His wife, 
who was born in Bridgewater, Mass., died in 

1845- 

George M. Baker was born and reared in his 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



35^ 



present liome. lie obtained his elementary 
cciiication in the public schools of Marshfielcl, 
.subsetiuentl)' attending the academy and the 
State Normal School at liridgowater. After 
finishing his studies, he was engaged as a dis- 
trict school teacher in Duxbury and Marsh- 
field some fourteen winters. In 1855 he en- 
gaged in the sale of general merchandise at 
IMarshfield, and managed a prosjierous busi- 
ness for fifteen years, retiring then from 
trade. In his early manhood he became agent 
for the Ouincy Mutual I'ire Insurance Com- 
jjany, and he was subsequently employed as 
agent for the Hingham Mutual and other fire 
insurance companies. At jiresent he repre- 
sents a number of leading insurance associa- 
tions, including the Mutual Life Insurance 
Company of New \'ork, and devotes the 
greater part of his time to the insurance busi- 
ness. 

Mr. Baker was married in October, 1842, to 
Sophronia II., daughter of Captain William 
Weston, formerly a well-known seafaring 
man of Marshfield. I'ive children have 
blessed their union, namely: George; 
Frank; Mary W. ; Stella K ; and Martin, 
who died at the Massachusetts Agricultural 
College, aged nineteen years. George Baker 
for several years was one of the Board of Se- 
lectmen, was a member of the legislature for 
the year 1882, and for many years was engaged 
in mercantile pursuits. I'rank Baker gradu- 
ated in 1S72 at the United States Military 
Academy at West Point, standing number five 
in a class of fifty-seven members. He served 
with his regiment (the Thirteenth Infantry) in 
various parts of the United States, and was 
transferred in 1879 to the Ordnance Depart- 
ment of the army. He is now a Captain in 
that branch of the service. Mary and Stella 
Baker have been teachers in the j)id)lic schools 
for many years. 



When a young man, Mr. George M. Baker 
was elected to the School Committee of 
Marshfield, and served over twenty-five years; 
and he was also one of the Selectmen for sev- 
eral years, serving at different periods. In 
1852 and 1853 he was in the Massachusetts 
State legislature, and he was Postmaster from 
1858 to 1885. He was one of the founders of 
the Marshfield Agricultural and Horticultural 
Society, was elected its first President, and 
held that office twenty years. For fourteen 
years he was a member of the Massachusetts 
State Board of Agriculture. 

He has been a lifelong temperance man, and 
interested in all measures for the sup[)ression 
of the traffic and use of intoxicating liquors 
as a beverage. He was early interested in the 
anti-slavery agitation, and cast his first vote 
for James G. Binney in 1841. When the 
Liberty party became merged in the P'ree Soil 
party, he was with that party; and he em- 
braced the Republican party at its organiza- 
tion. He has never voted with any other 
national party. He was one of the movers in 
the enterprise to shut out the tides from Green 
Harbor Marsh, whereby some fourteen hundred 
acres of salt meadow were reclaimed for agri- 
cultural purposes by the construction of the 
Marshfiekl Dike. The welfare of his native 
town has always been dear to him, and he 
ranks as one of her public-spirited citizens. 




DWARl) Y. PICRRV, one of the fore- 
most citizens of Hanover, Mass., was 
born in that part of the town of Pem- 
broke, Plymouth Count}', now known as Han- 
son, November 4, 1S12. His parents were 
Pllijah and Chloe (Stetson) Perry. The old 
homestead has been occupied by his ancestors 
for several generations. 

The Perry stock is among the best in New 



/I 



352 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



England. Its representatives have been wor- 
thily engaged in various spheres of human 
activity; but more especially have they figured 
among the sturdy and intelligent holders and 
tillers of the soil, who, independent and 
patriotic of spirit, were quick to resist 
oppression in time of danger from foreign 
foes, and as quick in time of peace to do 
their part in developing the resources of the 
country. 

Mr. Perry's paternal grandparents, Seth and 
Hannah Perry, were of this class. The for- 
mer, a farmer by occupation, gave up the 
plough for the musket, and fought bravely 
for American independence in the Revolution- 
ary War. Their son Elijah learned the trade 
of a moulder, but subsequently devoted most 
of his time to farming. He shared in a large 
degree the sturdy patriotism of his father, and 
performed active military service in the War 
of 1 812. The hardships which he endured at 
this time were the cause of his death about 
two years after the close of the war. His 
wife, Chloe, had died in December, 1812, 
when their son Edward, the subject of this 
sketch, was but seven weeks old. 

Left an orphan at the age of but two years, 
little Edward was taken care of by his pater- 
nal grandparents, with whom he remained dur- 
ing his minority, engaged in his later youth in 
tilling the ancestral acres. Seth Perry and 
his wife both lived to be very old, he dying 
when about ninety-five years of age, and she 
survi\'ing to the remarkable age of ninety- 
nine years and nine months. Upon attaining 
his majority, Edward Y. Perry started in busi- 
ness for himself, his first venture being as a 
country merchant in Hanson, where he contin- 
ued for several years, meeting with fair suc- 
cess. Having, however, for the purpose of 
accommodating others indorsed some paper 
which subsequently proved worthless, he lost 



all he had made, and found himself several 
thousand dollars in debt besides. This debt 
he paid in time, but it jiroved for some years 
a heavy ta.\ upon his resources. By no means 
discouraged by this unfortunate experience, he 
looked about him for a chance to retrieve his 
fortunes. With quick intelligence he saw 
that the future of New England depended 
largely upon her manufactures, and he resolved 
to enter the lists in what was comparatively 
a new industry. 

Taking into partnership Mr. Charles Dyer, 
a gentleman who, like himself, had failed in 
business and was in debt, the two, without a 
dollar in the world, engaged in the manufact- 
ure of tacks in the town of Hanover, on the 
site of the present factory of .S. C. Waterman 
& Sons. They began with one or two hun- 
dred pounds of iron, which they worked into 
shape and sold, and with the proceeds pur- 
chased a larger supply of raw material. From 
this modest beginning they gradually built up 
a business, making a little advancement year 
by year. But their progress was slow; and, 
when fifteen years had elapsed without any 
marked degree of success, they mutually agreed 
to dissolve partnership. Mr. Perry, however, 
resolved to continue in the business, and ac- 
cordingly purchased Mr. Dyer's interest, 
which he did mostly on credit. He then 
bought the property of the Hanover Forge 
Company at South Hanover, and shortly after- 
ward associated with himself Mr. Ezra Phillips 
and Martin W. Stetson, imder the firm name 
of E. Y. Perry & Co. Mr. Perry gave his 
attention to the old factory; while Messrs. 
Phillii^s and Stetson made necessary changes 
in the newly acquired property to adapt it to 
the manufacture of tacks instead of anchor forg- 
ing. The machinery from the old factory was 
then transferred to the new, and manufacturing 
conducted in the latter entirely. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



353 



Shortly after this Mr. Stetson withdrew, 
ami Messrs. .I'erry and rhillii)s carried on the 
business together. This proved a happy com- 
bination, and lasted for a period of thirty years, 
at the end of which time Mr. I'erry withdrew, 
in onler to devote his attention to his outside 
interests. The business had been most suc- 
cessful, and the firm was known as one of the 
largest tack manufacturing; concerns in the 
coinitry. Mr. I'cny pass a liis^li tribute to 
the ability and character of his partner with 
whom he was so long associated, and whose 
qualities, business and social, were so well 
adapted to make tiicir connection both pleasur- 
able and profitable. IJesides their tack busi- 
ness they had established in 1870 a steam- 
mill at West Hanover, which was at once a 
grist and saw mill, and where also they manu- 
factured bo.xes. At the same time, in con- 
nection with others, they had started a coal 
and grain business in Rockland and Hanover 
and a leather and findings store in Boston, 
under the firm name of Phinney & Philliiis. 
On dissolving partnership, all these outside 
interests fell into Mr. Perry's hands. The 
mill at West Hanover is now conducted under 
the firm name of L. Phillips & Co., Mr. Lot 
Phillips being a partner. The grain business 
at Rockland is continued under the name of 
Culver, Phillips & Co. 'I"he leather store in 
Boston, although a successful venture, was 
discontinued in 1S82. 

In 1 883 Mr. Perry, in company with Will- 
iam A. Vannah and \-'.. P. Sweeney, purchased 
the property known as Winslow's Mills at 
Waldoboro, Me., and, niuler the firm name of 
Vannah, Sweeney & Co., went into business 
as dealers in lumber, bark, wood, grain, flour, 
hay, and groceries; and he still remains con- 
nected with this firm, which does a flourishing 
business. He is also engaged, in company 
with Charles E. Soule, of Pembroke, in buy- 



ing and selling real estate, lumber, and wood; 
and they have been very successful. 

Prior to 1861 Mr. Perry was one of the lead- 
ing men in agitating the question of building 
a railroad from North Abington to Hanover. 
Hut at that time few could be found willing 
to invest a dollar; and the accomplishment of 
the enterprise would have remained something 
rather to be wished than hoped for, had it not 
been for Mr. Perry's persistent and aggressive 
efforts. An old charter had been granted for 
the purpo.se many years previously, but noth- 
ing had been done. It was now renewed, and 
matters were just beginning to assume a prac- 
tical form when the breaking out of the Civil 
War stopped operations. After the war Mr. 
Perry renewed his efforts; and in July, 1868, 
he had the satisfaction of seeing the road an 
accomplished fact. Upon its completion 
there was a debt of sixty thousand dollars, 
which has since been reduced to twenty thou- 
sand dollans. Mr. Perry had general super- 
vision of the building of the road, besides the 
engineering. He was President and active 
manager of the road from its inception to 
the time it was sold to the Old Colony Rail- 
road. He exercised a watchful supervision 
over its business and trafific, and everything 
relating to its finances passed through his 
hands. 

Mr. Perry has performed his share of public 
service. He has been Ju.stice of the Peace for 
many years, has besides done much jirobate 
business, and in 1867 he was a member of the 
State legislature. At an early period he 
threw himself into the anti-slavery movement, 
becoming a member of the American Anti- 
slavery Society at its organization by William 
Lloyd Garrison in 1833, and so remaining 
until the emancipation of the slaves was an 
accomplished fact. He has long been an ear- 
nest advocate of the temperance cause, on 



354 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



which as on other matters his oiiinions are 
pronounced and outspoken. He is so opposed 
to usury in every form that on July i, 1880, 
he stopped taking interest on his loans; and 
he collects no interest upon mortgages now in 
his hands. He is known throughout Plym- 
outh County as one of the best judges of real 
estate values. Though wealthy, he is still as 
full of enterprise as in his younger days. Of 
dauntless spirit, strong will power, keen in- 
telligence, and unswerving honesty, he is 
widely recognized as a thoroughly capable man 
of affairs; and he has done much to improve 
the town and add to the prosperity of the gen- 
eral community. 

On July 8, 1834, Mr. Perry married Miss 
Mary B. Oldham, daughter of David and Deb- 
orah (Barker) Oldham, of Pembroke; and on 
July 8, 1894, they celebrated together their 
golden wedding. They had one child, who 
died in infancy. 




lEV. W. C. RYDER, the well-known 
pastor of the Independent Congrega- 
tional Church of Rock, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born in Leeds, Me., No- 
vember 30, 1840, son of a Baptist clergyman 
who was then located in that town. 

W. Clarkson Ryder came when he was six 
months old with his parents to Middleboro, 
where he grew to manhood. After attending 
the public schools he took a supplementary 
course of study at Peirce Academy, from 
which institution he was subsequently gradu- 
ated. At the age of twenty-one he began 
teaching, being in Marion, North Scituate, 
and Fairhaven, Mass., and Woonsocket, R.I. 
After following the profession for ten years he 
was obliged, on account of failing health, to 
resign. He then came to Rock. The follow- 
ing year, 1872, he entered the employ of the 



American Tack Company, of Fairhaven, 
Mass., and has remained in their employ and 
that of their successors, The Atlas Tack Cor- 
poration, as salesman in New P2ngland, and 
manager of their store in Boston, for twenty- 
five years. Being religiously inclined, he be- 
came an evangelist, and, with the co-operation 
of others, gathered a congregation. In 1886 
he was ordained pastor of the Independent 
Church of Rock, which has grown and pros- 
pered under his pastorate. A number of years 
ago Mr. Ryder began a grove meeting on his 
land, with five tents. It has become under his 
management a camp meeting, with si.x large 
society tents, a ladies' pavilion, tabernacle, 
preacher's stand, with seats for about one 
thousand, large dining-rooms, etc. A com- 
pany has been formed to continue these meet- 
ings, which are held in July of each year, and 
are for the promotion of Scriptural holiness. 

In 1863 Mr. Ryder married Emily F. 
Holmes, a native of Rock. They have one 
child, Harland H., who was graduated from 
Boston University in the class of 1894. He 
is now principal of Hopedalc High School. 




DWIN SAWTELL, an enterprising and 
successful citizen of Brockton, promi- 
nent in business, politics, and social 
affairs, was born in Rindge, Cheshire County, 
N.H., August 25, 1838, son of Solomon Nel- 
son and Nancy (Whitney) Sawtell. His 
grandfather, Jonathan Sawtell, a native of 
New Hampshire, was for many years engaged 
in farming in Jeffrey, that State. Jonathan 
fought in the Revolutionary War, bearing the 
rank of Lieutenant, and lost a thumb in the 
battle of Bennington. He died at the age of 
eighty-nine years. His children numbered 
four sons and three daughters. Solomon Nel- 
son Sawtell was born April 6, 1786. A 




EDWIN SAWTELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIKW 



357 



farmer like his fatlier, for many years he lived 
in Rindge or its vicinity. He served in the 
War of 1812, was a Congregationalist in re- 
ligion, and died at the age of seventy-seven. 
He was twice married, and had a family of fif- 
teen children, of whom eleven were borne by 
Edwin's mother. l-"ive of the boys served in 
tile war of tlie Rcl)cllii)n. The youngest was 
i<illed during the raid on Washington. Nel- 
son tlied in a hospital. John L. died in 
Mansfield, Mass., July 22, 1894. Of the 
other two who are living, one was wounded at 
Antietam. 

lulwin -Sawlell, who was the tenth child 
borne bv his mother, comjileteil his education 
in tlie high schools of Rindge and Jaffrey. 
h"or a few years after leaving school he was 
employed as a painter in pail factories, and he 
was working in Lancaster, Mass., when the 
war broke out. lui listing in Company I, 
l""ifty-third Massachusetts Regiment, he was 
sent to Louisiana, where he was detailed as 
hospital nurse. In this capacity he performed 
many painful duties. He was one of the at- 
tendants sent with the wounded soldiers from 
Alexandria to Brashear City. There they were 
disturbed Iiy the Rebels, and were obliged to 
move on to New (Orleans. Mr. Sawtell was 
ordered to report for tluty in the hospital 
wards, i)ut requested to be allowed to join the 
regiment, and was sent to I'ort Hudson. 
After the e.\])iration of his term of enlistment 
he came home. In November, 1866, he 
started a hulled-corn business in Abington. 
The following April saw him established on 
CaryHill in Brockton. His venture in hulled 
corn, which he carried on in the winter for 
twenty-four years, was quite successful. In 
the summer he dealt in ice-cream. He also 
speculated in real estate. After spending 
three years on Cary Hill, he exchanged his 
place of business for his present stand on 



North Main Street. He now owns a large 
amount of real estate. He has given away 
several lots for manufacturing purpcses, and 
conceivei! tlie idea of Inii.lding a power house, 
in order to enhance the value of his other 
property. In 1891 he bought the business of 
the New England l^all Castor Com|)any, and, 
after conducting it under their patent for two 
years, gave it up. Among the lots given away 
was one of three hundred feet in length to the 
Industrial Improvement Corporation, and one 
to the Stevens Shank Company. He was one 
of the principal movers toward the locating 
of the W. L. Douglas Company, and several 
other shoe companies upon a portion of his 
land. It is to his enterprise that the upbuild- 
ing of that portion of Brockton called Mon- 
tello is due; for up to the year 1880 no de- 
velopment of the land in that quarter had 
taken place. During that year fifty-si.\ house- 
lots west of the railroad were laid out, streets 
were built, and house building commenced. 
At the present time nearly all the lots have 
dwellings of neat design. Beginning in 1880, 
he was constantly purchasing land east of the 
railroad until 1890, when at that time he 
owned in all two hundred and sixty acres. At 
the present time, on this property are manu- 
factories of various kinds, and over one hun- 
dred homes. At a celebration held when the 
first factory was completed, he was designated 
the "father of Montello." He is now Presi- 
dent of the Brockton Power Company, which 
was organized for the jjurpose of erecting fac- 
tories in this city. 

Mr. Sawtell was married November 24, 
1859, to Anna L. Holbrook. of P'itzwilliani, 
N.H. She died March 14, 1891, leaving two 
children, who are both living. On August 
14, 1893, he was again married, this time to 
Miss Lucy A. Doolitlle. A lady of remark- 
able ability, before her marriage she spent 



3S8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



several years in the Argentine Republic as 
principal of a kindergarten school and school 
for training teachers. She also opened a 
school for the same purpose in Topeka, Kan. , 
and formed a free kindergarten association in 
Bangor, Me., and for ten years she was en- 
gaged in educational work in Florence, Mass. 
She died April 8, i8g6, in her fifty-first year. 
For a number of years Mr. Sawtell has been 
affiliated with the Prohibition party. He was 
one of the original twenty-four in Brockton 
that voted in accordance with their convic- 
tions. He has served on the State and 
County Committee for many years, and was a 
delegate to the National Convention at Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, in 1892, and to the convention 
at Pittsburg, Pa., in 1896; and he has been 
nominated for various official positions. At 
one time he served on the City Council. 
Before the war he became a Mason and is 
now a member of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. 
& A. M. ; and for a number of years he has 
been a member of l^letcher Webster Post, No. 
13, Grand Army of the Republic. He has 
been a member of the Methodist church since 
he was fourteen years of age, and he filled 
several official positions in the Central Church 
of this city, his services extending over a 
period of twenty-five years. 



—»■*♦»•»■ 




ILLIAM FEARING, 2d, Town 
Treasurer of Hingham, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born here on 
May 13, 1832, son of David and Polly S. 
(Burr) Fearing. The earliest known progeni- 
tor of the family in America, John P"earing 
(also written Peering and Pterin), came from 
Cambridge, England, in 1638, settling in 
Hingham, Mass. Land was granted him in 
1635 and 1647; and after his death other lots 
in the si.x divisions fell to his heirs, being 



drawn in his name. He was a prominent man 
in the early local history, holding various 
positions of trust and responsibility. Pie was 
P^reeman in 1652, Selectman in 1648, 1661, 
and 1663, and was a Deacon of the church for 
many years. He was a farmer, and resided on 
North Street, nearly opposite the Universalist 
church. He died May 14, 1665. In his will, 
dated three days previously, and proved June 
12, he names his wife, two sons, and two 
daughters, and specifies that the eldest son is 
to have a double portion. His wife, Margaret, 
survived him, and subsequently married on 
November 3, 1675, Robert Williams, of 
Ro.xbury. 

Of John's four children, all of whom were 
natives of Hingham, Israel, the second-born, 
was baptized in September," 1644. On July 
22, 1673, he was united in marriage to Eliza- 
beth Wilder, daughter of Edward and Eliza- 
beth (Fames) Wilder. Israel Fearing, who 
was a cooper, died in Dorchester in January, 
1693 ; and his wife died in Hingham, January 
27, 1730. Five children were the result of 
their union. John, the eldest, born December 
29, 1674, was a weaver. He served the town 
as Constable in 1703, and as Selectman in 
1 73 1 and 1732. The maiden name of his 
wife, to whom he was married May 8, 1708, 
was Margaret Hawke. Her parents were 
James and Sarah (Jacob) Hawke. The sec- 
ond John Fearing died November 7, 1752; 
and his wife passed away on September 28, 
1764, being eighty-three years of age. Their 
home was on Pleasant Street, and they had 
four children. 

Hawkes P^earing, their third child, was 
born July 13, 1715. He was a farmer. He 
held the office of Selectman in 1751, 1754, 
and 1755. On December 3, 1741, he married 
Margaret Lincoln, daughter of David and 
Leah (Beal) Lincoln. She was born in 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



359 



Ilinj^hani, April 19, 1722. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ilawkcs Fearing resided on Main Street, 
Ilingiiam Centre, and had thirteen children. 
He died June 16, 17S5; and his wife lived 
until November 12, 1816. Ilawke.s, the fifth 
child, born November 26, 1750, was a farmer 
and trader. He resided on the homestead, 
and was a man of prominence, serving as Rep- 
resentative from 1806 to 1811, inclusive. On 
May 5, 1779, he married Leah Lincoln, 
daughter of Knoch and Rachel (Fearing) Lin- 
coln. She was jjorn here, December 3, 1758. 
ICleven children blessed their union. The 
father passed to the life immortal June 6, 
1826, and the mother, January 18, 1844. 

David, the sixth child of Hawkes and Leah 
Fearing, was born here, August 28, 1789. He 
was engaged in trade; and he served as Repre- 
sentative to the legislature in 1839 and 1840. 
On January 31, 18 19, he married Polly S. 
Hurr, daughter of Levi and Susanna (Stowers) 
Hurr. They resided on the paternal home- 
stead, and had si.\ children. The mother, 
born in Hingham, November 24, 1794, died 
September 11, 1859. David, the father, died 
October i, 1876. Their children were: 
Mariah ; David; William, who died at the 
age of three; Mary Hannah Thayer; and 
William. 

William hearing, 2d, who was reared in 
this town, had excellent educational advan- 
tages, supplementing his common-school in- 
struction by attending Derby Academy, which 
stood high among the institutions of learning 
of the day. His commercial career began in 
his father's grocery store, where he continued 
until it was burned out. In 185S he built 
a store here; and he continueil to engage in 
the sale of goods and in business generally 
therein until 1892, when he sold out. He 
now has an office in the second story of the 
same building. 



In politics, since casting his first vote for 
John C. Fremont, he has affiliated with the 
Republican jiarty. He has been actively 
interested in local affairs, serving efficiently 
as Town Treasurer for thirty-nine consecutive 
years. He is Vice-President of the Hingham 
Institution for Savings, Treasurer of the 
Hingham Public Library, President and Treas- 
urer of the Hingham Mutual P'ire Insurance 
Company, and Treasurer of the Hingham 
Cordage Company. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; 
Past Commander of South Shore Commandery, 
Knights Templars, having passed the thirty- 
second degree ; and Life Member of Massa- 
chusetts Consistory. In New York City, 
February 19, 1863, Mr. Fearing was united 
in marriage with Fmily L. Cushing, of Boston. 
She died twelve years ago, leaving four chil- 
dren, three of whom are living and at home: 
William B., born September 25, 1864; Alice 
L., born August 29, 1866; and Gertrude I., 
born (October i, 1872. In religion Mr. l-"ear- 
ing is a man of liberal ideas, being a L^nita- 
rian. Personally, he is a man of social as 
well as official prominence and power. 



Js^YO'I^ 1^- MOLLIS, a prominent citizen 
of Duxbury, Mass., and one of the 
messengers of the Massachusetts House 
of Representatives, is a native of Weymouth, 
Norfolk County, this State. He was born 
January 8, 1833, a son of John B. and Emily 
(Harvey) Hollis, the former of whom was born 
in Weymouth, and the latter in North Var- 
mouth. Me. Hosea Hollis, father of John 
B. , Sr. , was also a native of Weymouth, where 
the founder of the family settled at an early 
date. He was a soldier in the War of 18 12. 
John B. Hollis, Sr., was a lifelong resident 
of Weymouth, and was engaged in shoe manu- 






360 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



facturing. For several years, in the thirties, 
he served as Town Clerk ; and for many years 
he was a member of the Massachusetts legis- 
lature. In his boyhood he was a companion of 
Mr. Lovell, of the John P. Lovell Arms Com- 
pany.; and in later life he was for a time com- 
mander of an artillery company, and was fa- 
miliarly known as Captain Hollis. He and 
his wife, Emily Harvey Hollis, had eleven 
children, of whom the following are living, 
namely: David; George; Lydia, the wife of 
Joseph .Smith; Mary, wife of Thomas Smith; 
Emily, wife of Edwin French; Carrie, wife of 
Timothy Hersey; Susie; Georgia; and John 
B. Captain Hollis was a Jacksonian Demo- 
crat. He lived to be over ninety-four years 
of age, and his mother lacked but a few 
months of being a centenarian at the time of 
her death. A few years ago there were resid- 
ing at Cohasset, Mass., in one house, five 
generations of the Hollis family. 

John H. Hollis, the special subject of this 
sketch, lived in Weymouth until about sixteen 
years old, when he went with his parents to 
Cohasset, Mass., and resided there several 
years. He received his education in the pub- 
lic schools of Weymouth and Cohasset, after 
which he learned the shoe business. At the 
time of the invention of the Blake Sole-sewing 
Machine by Lyman R. Blake, Mr. Hollis and 
others became interested in the foreign patents; 
and he spent about a year in Europe, introduc- 
ing and exhibiting the workings of the ma- 
chine, Leeds, England, and Pari.s, France, 
being among the cities visited. On his return 
to Massachusetts he took charge of the ma- 
chines of Emerson & Sons, shoe manufacturers 
at what is now Wakefield, Mass., remaining 
with them several years, leaving there to take 
charge of the sole-sewing machines of the 
Hayward Rubber Company at Wyoming, 
Mass., his work being the oversight of the 



sewing of the rubber soles of rubber shoes 
made by that firm for the United States Army. 
He had been with them but a short time when 
they went out of business. In 1857 he came 
to Duxbury, and has practically resided here 
since. For five years he was on the State 
police force under Major Jones and William 
H. Clemence, of Lowell, his duties being 
principally in Plymouth and Suffolk Counties. 
He next served two years under General 
Stevenson of the State Department of Inspec- 
tion of Public Buildings. In 1S81 he was 
appointed a messenger of the Massachusetts 
House of Representatives, in which capacity 
he has now served about fifteen years. 

In 1857 Mr. Hollis was joined in marriage 
with Miss Gertrude W. Prior, daughter and 
only child of Captain George C. and Caroline 
Prior, of Duxbury. Sylvanus Prior, the 
grandfather of Mrs. Hollis, was an early 
settler of Duxbury, in which town her father 
spent his youth. At fourteen George C. Prior 
became a sailor, at twenty-one he had risen 
to be master of a vessel ; and from that time 
on he was in command of various vessels, 
engaging principally in the Smyrna trade, but 
visiting many of the principal ports_ of the 
world. In 1849 Captain Prior went to Cali- 
fornia, where he spent several years. He died 
in Duxbury in 1892, at about eighty-four years 
of age. His widow, who is now in her eighty- 
sixth year, is living in Boston. In politics he 
was a Republican. He was a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and was identi- 
fied with the Independent Order of Odd 
P'ellows. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hollis have 
two children living, namely: John E., resid- 
ing in Boston; and Carrie G., at home in 
Duxbury. 

In political affiliation Mr. Hollis is a Re- 
publican. F'or a number of years he was a 
member and Chairman of the Republican 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



361 



Town Committee. He is a member of the 
I)ii,\l)iiry Yacht Club, also of Corner Stone 
Lodge, A. V. & A. M., which is one of the 
oldest Masonic lodges in the State. Me be- 
longs to the Standish Munument Association, 
and is a member of its E.xeciitive Committee; 
also a member of tlic Norfolk Club at Hoston 
and the Plymouth County Club. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hollis are very jiopular in social circles. 



-OHN SHERMAN, one of the stirring 
and progressive farmers of Plympton, 
Mass., and an ex-member of the State 
legislature, was born upon the farm he now 
owns and occupies, March 15, 1834, son of 
John and Sally (Ransom) Sherman. Mr. 
Sherman is truly a representative of Old Col- 
ony stock, as he numbers among his ancestors 
some of the passengers in the "Mayflower" in 
1620, his great-great-great-grandfather, Will- 
iam Sherman, second, having married in 
1667 Desire Doty, daughter of the Pilgrim 
Edward Doty, and their son, William, third, 
his great-great-grandfather, having married in 
1697 Mercy, daughter of Peregrine White. 

John Sherman, first, father of the subject 
of this sketch, was a native of Carver, Mass. ; 
but, w-hen a young man, he settled upon the 
farm in this town which is now owned by his 
son, and he was engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits until his death, which took place in 
1 845. lie was an able and industrious 
farmer and a useful citizen, who displayed 
a deep interest in all matters affecting the 
general welfare of the community; and he was 
highly respected and esteemed by liis fellow- 
townsmen. 

John Sherman was rearetl upon the paternal 
homestead, and his education was acquired in 
the district schools. He was but eleven years 
old when his father died. His youth was 



passed in assisting in carrying on the farm, 
which has always been his home; and upon 
attaining his majority he took entire charge 
of the property. He owns one hundred acres 
of well-im])rovcd land, which is devoted to 
general agriculture and the raising of small 
fruits; and, by industriously applying himself 
to maintaining the fertility of the soil and 
exterminating weeds, he realizes excellent 
results for his labor. 

On January 9, 1859, Mr. Sherman married 
Sarah N. Wright, of Plympton. Three chil- 
dren were born of this union, as follows: S. 
Jennie, who is the wife of John S. Robbins, 
of Plymouth, and has one dairghtcr, Helen 
S. ; Georgie PLtta, who died at the age of six- 
teen ; and Nellie 1""., who lives at home wMth 
her father. Mrs. Sherman, the mother, died 
in December, 1895. 

In public affairs Mr. Sherman is very prom- 
inent, and has by his long and faithful service 
pio\ed himself of great value to the town in 
the transaction of its official business. Dur- 
ing a period of eighteen years he at dififerent 
times served as a member of the l^oard of Se- 
lectmen. He was an Assessor for nineteen 
years. Overseer of the Poor for nearly that 
length of time, and in 1892 he was elected 
by the Republican party, of which he is a 
leading spirit in this ]iart of the county, to 
represent the Second Plymouth District in the 
legislature. 




LMER B. COLE, of the firm of Clark 
& Cole, box manufacturers of Middle- 
boro, Mass., was born in North 
Carver, another Plymouth County town, Jan- 
uary II, 1858. His parents, Harrison G. 
and Lucy (Chace) Cole, were also born in 
Carver. Harrison G. Cole was in business 
there as a box manufacturer for about forty 
years, and was looked upon as one of the lead- 



362 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing business men of the place. He died at 
the age of sixty-nine years and three months. 
His wife died in Carver in her fifty-fifth year. 
She was the mother of seven children, three 
daughters and four sons, four of whom are liv- 
ing besides the special subject of this biogra- 
phy, namely: Theron M., in North Carver; 
Sarah L., wife of Gu.stavus Swift, of Middle- 
boro; Henry H., who is in the clothing busi- 
ness in Plymouth ; Horace C. , a tack manufact- 
urer in Kingston. 

Elmer B. Cole received a common-school 
education in his native town. He went to 
work in his father's box factory at the age of 
fourteen ; and it may be said that he grew up 
in the business, for he learned all the details 
from the beginning to the final completion of 
a box. He was subsequently in business with 
a brother under the firm name of Cole Brothers 
at North Carver; but, after remaining there 
about eight years, he moved to Middleboro, 
leaving the business in Carver under his 
brother's direction, and in partnership with 
J. S. Clark established his present enterprise, 
which has prospered from the beginning. Mr. 
Cole's natural ability and long experience 
combined have placed his business on a firm 
footing. 

He was married on December 25, 1883, to 
Miss Emma M. Anderson, who was born in 
Palmyra, Mo., and reared in the State of 
Maine, which became her home when she was 
two years old. They have had one child. 
Forest, now deceased. Mr. Cole is a member 
of the Commercial Club, an organization 
which has for its object the upbuilding of the 
business industries of Middleboro. 

Politically, Mr. Cole favors the Democratic 
party. He belongs to three of the leading 
fraternal organizations of the day — the Ma- 
sonic order. Knights of Pythias, and the Royal 
Society of Good Fellows. The teaching of 



his religious belief is summed up in the jire- 
cept. Do unto others as ye would that they 
should do unto you. 




EORGE P. CUSHMAN, Commodore 
^1 of the Duxbury Yacht Club, has 
served with distinction in the United 
States Navy, both in time of war and in peace, 
and is now living in pleasant retirement in 
his native town, Duxbury. He was born Oc- 
tober 14, 1837. His parents, George and 
Judith (Weston) Cushman, were natives of 
Duxbury, and members of old Colonial 
families. 

Mr. Cushman is a lineal descendant, in the 
ninth generation, of Robert Cushman, who 
embarked with the "Mayflower" Pilgrims in 
1620, but, on account of the "Speedwell" 
proving unseaworthy, went back to London 
with others of the company. He was a 7nem- 
ber of the Pilgrims' Church in Leyden, Hol- 
land ; and for a number of years he served as 
their business agent in England. He came 
to Plymouth with his son Thomas in the 
"Fortune" in November, 162 1, and returned 
to England in December, leaving Thomas, 
his only child, in the family of Governor 
Bradford. Thomas Cushman married Mary 
Allerton, who came to Plymouth with her 
father, Isaac Allerton, in the "Mayflower." 
George Cushman, first, father of the second 
George named above, was a soldier in the Rev- 
olutionary War. He married a Miss Perry, 
who lived to be ninety-seven years old. Their 
son, George Cushman, second, father of 
George P., followed the sea for a number of 
years, and retired on account of acquired deaf- 
ness, settling on a farm in Duxbury. He, 
too, was in the United States military service, 
participating in the War of 181 2. He died 
in Duxbury in 1874. The Weston family, of 



BIOGRAI'HICAL RKVIEW 



363 



wliicli liis wife was a nicnil)i.'r, dates back to 
the coming of Governor Winthrop to tliis 
country in 162S, the first New England 
Weston having been a member of the Uoston 
colony. Tlie following children were born to 
George and Judith (Weston) Cushman : Rufus, 
residing in East Hoston, Mass.; Allien, in 
Duxbury; Rebecca T., wife of Allen Holmes, 
of this town; George P., the subject of this 
sketch; and John, deceased. 

George P. Cushman was reared in Du.\bury, 
attending school until he was fourteen years 
old. He went to sea before he was fifteen, 
being engaged the first summer in fishing at 
the Grand Banks, Newfouniiland; and he then 
shipped as a sailor on merchantmen in the 
foreign trade. When he was seventeen years 
old, he was foremast hand, and was promoted 
to the rank of second oflRcer of an East India- 
man called the "Levanter." While in the 
merchant service, he visited most of the princi- 
pal parts of the world. In the fall of 1857, 
when in his twenty-first year, he was second 
officer of the ship "Banshee," of Baltimore. 
This vessel, of some seven hundred tons' 
burden, with a complement of eighteen men 
and officers, made port at Rio Janeiro, Brazil, 
for a cargo of coffee. The yellow fever was 
then raging in that port, and most of the ships 
in the harbor were infected. The crew of the 
"Banshee" fell a prey to the scourge; and, 
when she sailed for Baltimore, her force was 
reduced to five working hands, under command 
of Mate Cushman. Though so short-handed, 
the vessel made the home port in safety after 
a voyage of thirty-one days; and during thirty 
days of that period Mr. Cushman was on deck 
most of the time, night and day. 

The achievement was un|)recedcnted in the 
merchant marine, anil made the turning-point 
of his destiny. Lieutenant James P. I-'oster, 
of the United States Navy, then attached to 



the recruiting service, hearing of it, was so 
impressed with the ability of Mr. Cushman 
that he induced him to join the navy. Mr. 
Cushman was first assigned to the receiving 
ship "Alleghany," with which Mr. ]'"oster was 
connected. In May, 1.S5S, he went aboard the 
"Plymouth," sloop-of-war and gunnery prac- 
tice ship, and remained until she went out of 
commission in November, 1858. He was sub- 
sequently ordered to the receiving ship 
"Pennsylvania" at Norfolk, Va. ; but in May, 
1859, Lieutenant l-'oster, who had been 
ordered to the "Constellation," caused Mr. 
Cushman to be transferred to that vessel. 
There he remained until October, i860; and 
in the mean time the "Constellation" cap- 
tured several slavers in African waters, among 
them the barque "Cora," with seven hundred 
negroes. Mr. Cushman was the first to board 
the "Cora," and was sent home in the store 
ship "Relief" to witness against the slaver. 
In the early part of the Civil War he was 
appointed gunner's mate of the "Crusader," 
and was in active service capturing blockade 
runners. One of the captives taken at this 
time was the famous slave yacht "Wanderer," 
commanded by Captain Latham. 

Discharged from the service in October, 
1861, Mr. Cushman went to Washington, and 
passed the examination ; and on December 18 
of that year he was appointed gunner in the 
United States Navy, receiving his warrant 
October 10, 1862. This slip of paper is very 
precious to him now: for it bears the auto- 
graph signature of Abraham Lincoln, besides 
that of Gideon Welles, then .Secretary of the 
Navy. He saw much active service while the 
Rebellion was in progress, and at the battle of 
Hone Hill, Ga. , was wounded in the left leg. 
After the war he was retained in the navy as 
gunner for a long period, in the course of 
which he received other injuries. On account 



3^4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of these he was placed on the retired list of 
the United States naval service, July 22, 
I 891. Since that time he has made his home 
in Duxbury, still keepin;^ up his connection 
to a certain extent with nautical affairs. He 
is full owner of one schooner, and part owner 
of another in the mackerel fisheries, the only 
fishing schooners left of a former numerous 
fleet from Duxbury; and he is Commodore of 
the Duxbury Yacht Club. 

Mr. Cushman was married January 2, 1862, 
to Rosa A. Gutteriez, a native of Malaga, 
Spain, and has one daughter living, Frances 
J. He has long been a member of the Repub- 
lican party, and has been honored in various 
ways by his fellow-partisans, his practical 
ability, intrepidity, and good judgment being 
generally recognized. He has served as 
national delegate from Duxbury. In i8g6 he 
was a member of the body which in Boston 
elected delegates for the Republican National 
Convention at St. Louis; and in the same 
year he was a delegate from Duxbury to the 
Brockton convention, which nominated Will- 
iam C. Lover ing for Congressman from this 
district, and also nominated the Presidential 
elector. Mr. Cushman is a Mason, belonging 
to Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Duxbury. 

(5|hOMAS GAFFIELD, who presented 
M Gaffield Park to the town of Norwell, 
is well known in Boston as a merchant, 
a manufacturer, and a public-spirited citizen, 
actively interested in education and philan- 
thropy. He was born in Boston, January 14, 
1825, a son of Thomas and Betsey (Chester) 
Gafifield. Some of his ancestral kin bore the 
name Garfield, another form of spelling, 
denoting, no doubt, the .same original stock. 
Thomas Gafifield in his boyhood attended 
the Boston public schools and the Lawrence 



.Scientific .School. In 1840 he was engaged as 
clerk in the store of Caleb G. Loring Com- 
pany, of Boston, dealers in hardware and win- 
dow glass; and in 1847 he became a member 
of the firm. For twenty-two years, or until 
1869, he was in business at 10 Merchants' 
Row, Boston. In 1863 he began some experi- 
ments on the action of sunlight in changing 
the color of glass. The interesting results 
which he observed until 1889 have been pub- 
lished in several scientific journals at home 
and abroad. He became gradually interested 
in real estate matters, and has now for a num- 
ber of years been engaged extensively in real 
estate transactions in Brookline and other sub- 
urbs of Boston ; and he has been appointed 
executor and manager of several large estates, 
his well-known integrity and conservative man- 
agement making him a most desirable trustee. 
Mr. Gaffield's home is in Boston at 54 Allen 
Street. He is personally interested in the 
city government and institutions. 

Mr. Gaffield is a member of the American 
Academy of Arts and .Sciences, the Society of 
Arts, and the Natural History Society. He 
has been a Director in the Franklin .Savings 
Bank from 1872 to the present time, and is 
also a Director of the American Unitarian 
Association. He attended for many years 
during the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Lowell 
and the Rev. Dr. Bartol the old West Church, 
where he was successively pupil, teacher, and 
acting superintendent of the Sunday-school. 
P'rom 1852 to 1857 he was successively Di- 
rector, Vice-President, and President of the 
Young Men's Christian Union. He has been 
a visitor since 1846, and is now President, of 
the ^^nulg Men's Benevolent Society. He 
has been for many years an officer of the 
Benevolent P'raternity of Churches for the 
support of the ministry-at-large in the city of 
Boston, and of the Children's Mission to the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



365 



Chiklnjii of llic Destitute. Mr. ("lafficlil was 
one (if the (iriginal inembers, and from 1.S76 to 
i.SHi the Secretary, of the Commercial Club. 
In 1864 he represented Wan! 5 in the Common 
Council of Boston, and in 1.S65, i866, 1867, 
and 1873 was a member of the Board of Alder- 
men, lie was on the Trimary School Com- 
mittee from 1851 to 1855, and on the -School 
Committee under its new organization from 
1882 to 1885. 

Mr. Gaffield was married .Sc|)temher 19, 
1848, to Miss Sarah W. Kendall, who died in 
1887; and on March 12, 1890, he was united 
with Maria W. Turner, who was born in the 
town of South Scituate, now Norwell, in 
1837. I Icr parents, Samuel and Lydia (Sim- 
mons) Turner, were old residents here; and 
the summer residence in Norwell occupied by 
Mr. and .Mrs. GafTicld, into which they moved 
in i8gi, stands on land purchased in 1784 by 
her ancestor, Israel Turner, a descendant of 
Humphrey Turner, to whom land was granted 
in Scituate in 1636. Mrs. Gaffield before her 
marriage taught school in Boston for a number 
of years. She and her husband are members 
of the Church of the Disciples in Boston, 
which was founded by the Rev. James P'ree- 
man Clarke, D. D., and whose present minister 
is the Rev. Charles G. Ames. 

The manner in which .Mr. Gaffield has 
recently disposed of some of his most valuable 
books and specimens of glass and minerals for 
the benefit of the public, and especially of art 
students, mav be learned from the following 
announcements. We cpiote first from the Re- 
jjort of the Library Committee of the Museum 
of Fine Arts, Boston, for 1895: "The most 
important gift of the year, and the most 
important ever made to the library, is the 
collection of books on various branches of 
art presented by Mr. Thomas Gaffield. This 
collection comprises one hundred and eighty- 



seven works in two hundred and seventy- 
nine volumes, many of them folios and richly 
illustrated. It contains, among other note- 
worthy books, Layard's 'Nineveh,' Jones's 
'Alhambra, ' Hamilton's 'Greek Vases,' 
Haufstacngl's 'Dresden Gallery,' Bartsch's 
'Peintre-Graveur, ' Lippman's 'Diirer, ' Rich- 
ter's'Da Vinci," Ottley's 'Italian Art,' Shaw's 
works on niediaval decoration, and a number 
of volumes illustrative fif the arts of glass 
painting and staining. The collection has 
been placed in a case provided for the purpose, 
inscribed with Mr. Gaffield's name and the 
date of the gift. " The museum also received 
from .Mr. Gaffield some etchings by James 
Whistler, specimens of Persian, V'enetian, 
English, and Roman glass and crystal or- 
naments. 

The Re[iort of the lioston Public Library 
for the same year acknowledges the receipt of 
thirty-seven volumes from Mr. Gaffield; and 
the Report, of the President and Trustees of the 
Institute of Technology contains the following: 
"Mr. Thomas Gaffield has presented to the In- 
stitute his collections relating to the manu- 
facture of glass, a subject on which he has 
long been known as an authority. His gift 
comprises a considerable library, as well as 
large and varied collections, chemical, mine- 
ralogical, metallurgical, and mechanical. The 
library contains two hundred and si.\ty-one 
volumes dealing with glass and kindred sub- 
jects, six volumes on precious stones, and 
thirty-four referring to the effects of light 
upon glass. Perhaps the most interesting and 
valuable i)art of the collection is composed of 
si.xty-three \olunies on works of art in glass 
and porcelain, many of them beautifully illus- 
trated with colored plates. Among these are 
two large folio.s, Delange et Borneman, 'Re- 
cueil de P'ai'ence Italienne de W., \\"I., 
XVII. Slides'; Warrington, "History of 



366 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Stained Glass'; Fortiuim, 'Maiolica in South 
Kensington' ; and Jacquemart, 'Histoire de la 
Ceramique,' 1875. On the practical side the 
collection includes sets of glass-makers' tools, 
models of furnaces and glass pots, samples 
of materials used in glass-making, samples of 
glass-blowers' work, specimens of old cathe- 
dral glass; also many which show the results of 
Mr. Gaffield's study of the varying action of 
sunlight upon glass, and others showing the 
action of sand blast, of glue, mucilage, and of 
hydrofluoric acid. " 

The park which Mr. Gaffield has presented 
to the town of Norwell he purchased in 1895, 
and it was accepted by the town in 1896. It 
covers some eight acres of land. The genera- 
tions to come who will enjoy its natural ver- 
dure and the shade of its trees will remember 
gratefully the man who rescued for them, 
from the grasping hands of modern progress, 
a breathing-spot where Nature may minister to 
the sick and weary, and where childhood and 
youth may sport in undisturbed innocence and 
old age dream restfully of the past. 



hundred and fifty acres of land. The store 
now occupied by Packard & Joslin was erected 
by Mr. Magoun in 1889. Mr. Magoun was 
appointed I^stmaster of West Hanover in 
1861, and has since held the office continu- 
ously, a period of about thirty-five years. 
Politically, he is a Republican. He is a 
member of the North River Lodge of Odd 
Fellows at Hanover. 

On May 12, 1850, Mr. Magoun was united 
in marriage with Miss Catherine B. I^onney. 
They have hail three children, of whom but 
one is living. Flora J., who is the wife of 
William H. White. The deceased are: Frank 
W. and Austin B. Mr. Magoun is a gentle- 
man of high personal character, and through 
all his past career has enjoyed in a large 
measure the respect and esteem of his fellow- 
men. 




"ORATIO B. MAGOUN, a retired 
merchant of Hanover, was born in 
this town, November 20, 1826. 
His parents were Abncr and Mary (Fllis) H. 
Magoun. The first years of his life were 
spent in West J-lanover. At the age of 
twelve he began working for his father, who 
was a shoemaker. Four years later he secured 
employment as a cutter, and followed that 
occupation for three years. Then, in 1857, 
he 0]5ened a general store at West Hanover, 
wliere he carried on a lucrative business until 
1880, about twenty-three years, at the end of 
which he sold to Mr. M. V. Bonney. He has 
since been engaged in the sale of agricultural 
implements and in farming, having about one 



T^LIFT RODGERS is one of the oldest 
I Vp and wealthiest citizens of Marshfield, 
V fci° ^ a self-made man, wlio has for some 
time been enjoying the leisure earned by long 
years of industry. He was born in Marsh- 
field, December 4, 1806, a son of Luther and 
Nabby (Tilden) Rodgers, both natives of this 
town. His paternal grandfather also, Simeon 
Rodgers, was born in Marshfield. Luther 
Rodgers was born in 1778. He was engaged 
in farming, and also ke]:>t a general store at 
Marshfield Hills (then called liast Marshfield) 
during his active life. He died March 3, 
i860, his wife, who also was a member of 
an old Marshfield family, having passed away 
January 28, 1858. Of their children two are 
living, namely: Alvin, at Marshfield Hills; 
and Clift, a brief sketch of whom is given 
below. 

Clift Rodgers began the work of life with 
such educational advantages as his native town 
afforded. He began to learn the trade of tan- 




Mi^^ 




CLIFT RODGERS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



369 



ning and currying in Oiiincy, Mass., when he 
was seventeen years old, serving as an appren- 
tice with Francis Williams until he attained 
his majority. After iiis a[)prenticcship was 
finished, he worked as a journeyman in Mr. 
Williams's employ some seven years, and 
tiien established a shop of his own in Quincy. 
In the spring of 1852 he went into the leather 
commission business in lioston, with Francis 
Williams as partner, under the firm name of 
Williams & Rodgers; and Mr. Williams's 
place was subsequently taken by Lysander 
Richards and John L. Rodgers, the firm name 
being changeil to Rodgers, Richards & Co. 
I'liis house controlled a large and prosperous 
leather commission business for a number of 
years. Mr. Rodgers eventually retired; and 
in the beautiful village of Marshfield Hills he 
has grown old without the decrepitude of age, 
advancing to his ninetieth milestone on life's 
journey as if it were no more than his si.xtieth 
birthday. 

Mr. Rodgers was married December 27, 
1835, to I<;ieanor Ba.xter, daughter of James 
Ba.xter, of Quincy, Mass. Mrs. Eleanor B. 
Rodgers died March 13, 1893, aged seventy- 
seven years. Mr. Rodgers has no children 
living. In politics he belongs to the Repub- 
lican party. In his native town, where so 
many of his days have been spent, and where 
there are so many of his old friends and asso- 
ciates that his life is like an open book, he 
enjoys the good will and respect of all. 



TTAHAKI.ICS C. Fll'LD was born in 
I ji North Bridgewater, now Brockton, 

V>r ^ March 18, 1826, and has been in 
business in this city over fifty years. His 
parents were Zophar and Berenice (Howard) 
l-'ield. He is an uncle of Daniel Waldo and 
Fretl !•". I'ield, well-known shoe manufact- 



urers of Brockton, and is a member of an old 
family, the first representative of which, John 
Field, settled in Bridgewater in 1665, before 
the town was dividetl. .Since that time, over 
two and a quarter centuries, the Field family 
has flourished where it was originally 
planted. 

The oldest house now standing in Brockton 
was erected by Jabez Field, grandson of John 
Field and great-grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch, in 1752. Daniel Field, son of 
Jabez and grandfather of Charles C. , kept a 
general store in what is now Montello for 
some time, but in the latter part of his life 
gave his attention solely to the pursuit of 
agriculture. 

Zophar Field was one of the early shoe 
manufacturers of North Bridgewater, as.so- 
ciated with Charles Southworth, under the 
firm name of Field & Southworth. He event- 
ually retired from the shoe business, and was 
engaged in slaughtering cattle for the Boston 
market during the rest of his life, also manag- 
ing the homestead farm. Mr. Zophar Field 
attended divine worship at the Universalist 
church. He died in 1865, aged seventy-five 
years. His wife was a daughter of Oliver 
Howard, of North Bridgewater. She was the 
mother of four sons and four daughters: Har- 
riet; Daniel, who died in November, 1893, 
aged seventy-eight years; Louisa, who lived 
but five years; George, who died in .May, 
1896, aged seventy-eight; Louisa; Hannah; 
Charles C. ; and William L. The two last 
named are the only survivors of the family. 

Charles C. F"ield received a common-school 
education in Montello, going to work at the 
age of fourteen. At that early age he began 
to drive a market wagon for himself ; and at 
si.xteen he went to Brighton to buy cattle, 
which he slaughtereil. In 1845 '1*-' opened a 
store on the site of the ]jresent Fntcrprise 



37° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Building; and, after ten years of prosperous 
trade at that stand, he purcliased a place where 
the Field Block now is. He was over thirty 
years in business at that location, and then 
moved to his present stand, 20 Spring Street. 
Three years ago he retired from business; but, 
soon tiring of inactivity, he bought back his 
old place, and is again happy, welcoming old 
customers, and making, many new acquaint- 
ances. He opened the first market in the 
town, and has had a very successful career in 
the half-century that he has been in trade. 
Mr. Field was engaged for a while in market 
gardening, raising his produce on a piece of 
land which he afterward sold to the railroad 
company for a freight yard. This land he 
purcha.sed of B. E. Jones for five hundred dol- 
lars; and in 1891 the railroad company paid 
him seventy-five thousand dollars for it, the 
transaction being the best real estate deal 
ever effected in Brockton. Mr. Field was 
married in 1848 to Lucy Cobb Cross, daughter 
of Nathaniel and Lucy (Cross) Cross, of North 
Bridgewatcr. Their silver wedding was cele- 
brated in October, 1S73. This union has 
been blessed by four children. The eldest 
daughter died, and one daughter is yet at 
home with her parents. Charles is a graduate 
of Brown University and the Harvard Medical 
School, and has practised medicine in East 
Bridgewater for seventeen years. The other 
son, George Wilton, is a graduate of Brown 
University and of Johns Hopkins University 
at Baltimore, and has also studied in luirope 
for some time, remaining in Italy six months. 
For the past three years he has filled the chair 
of Professor of Biology at Brown University. 

Mr. Field, who is a stanch Republican, cast 
his first Presidential vote as a Whig for Zach- 
ary Taylor in 1848, before the new party was 
formed. He has been urged to accept dif- 
ferent offices in Brockton, but has always 



firmly refused. He belongs to no secret 
orders and to no temperance society, though 
a strong believer in total abstinence, having 
never drank liquor or smoked or chewed 
tobacco in his life. The only social organiza- 
tion with which he is affiliated is the Commer- 
cial Club, of which he is an honored member. 



AMES HORACE WEST, a well-known 
bo.\ manufacturer of North Pembroke, 
Mass., was born January 25, 1829, in 
North Bridgewater, now Brockton. His 
parents were James and Hannah (Ballard) 
West. John West, his grandfather, was the 
earliest-known ancestor in Plymouth County. 
Living in this region before the days of rail- 
roads, Mr. John West teamed merchandise 
from Boston to Randolph and surrounding 
towns. His last years were spent in that part 
of Randolph now within the limits of the town 
of Holbrook. He married Relief Kingman, a 
native of Randolph, whose father was a black- 
smith. 

Their son James, the father of James Horace 
West, after acquiring a common-school educa- 
tion, learned the shoemaking trade. He 
bought a farm in that part of Abington which 
has been set off to form the town of Whitman, 
and continued in the successful management 
thereof during the rest of his life. He mar- 
ried Hannah Ballard, of New Hampshire, by 
whom he had nine children. He died in 
1890, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. 
His wife died at the age of seventy-nine 
years. 

James H. West, leaving school at the age 
of fifteen, went to Pembroke to work on a 
farm, and during his minority his father re- 
ceived his wages. For a time thereafter he 
was engaged in teaming; and in 1867, buying 
the mill in North Pembroke, he began the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



37' 



manufacture of boxes, which still engages his 
attention. The mill is admirably fitted with 
all kinds of machinery; and he employs an 
able corps of worknicn, wiio make a great vari- 
ety of boxes. At present the ])rochicts are sold, 
almost without exception, to the Walter liaker 
Company. In |K)litics Mr. West has been a 
Republican since tlie formation of the jjarty. 
He served six years on the Hoard of Select- 
men. 

The maiden name of his wife, to wliom lie 
was marrietl in 1851, was Mary Green Shep- 
herd. Her i)arents were Calvin and Mary 
(Byram) Shepherd, of Pembroke, consistent 
members of the Society of l-'riends, their 
daughter being a birtiiright member. Mrs. 
Mary G. S. West died on l-'ebruary 14, 1896, 
having reared two children — James H., Jr., 
and Calvin Shepherd. James H. \\'(>st, Jr., 
married Hattie Irving Calkins, and has two 
children — Gilbert Horace and Ada Irving. 
He and his family are members of the grange. 
Calvin S. West is a member of the Board of 
Selectmen of Pembroke. He married Sarah 
L. Calkins; and they have one son, Lester 
Daniel West. 




k(»i^:i^:II.l, .\. PHILLIPS, of the 
tiini (it ]■'.. Piiillips & Sons, tack 
manufacturers, was born in tlie 
town ot Hanson, Plymouth County, Mass., 
FelMuary 27, 1844, son of Plzra and" Catherine 
(Tilden) Phillips. He came with his parents 
to Hanover in 1852, and was educated in the 
public schools and at Hanover Academy. At 
the age of nineteen he entered E. Y. Perry & 
Co. 's store in South Hanover, remaining two 
years, and he was afterward employed by the 
same firm in Boston. In 1874 he became 
associated with his father and brothers, who 
purchased Mr. Perry's interest in the tack 
business at South Hanover, the firm being 



thereafter known under the style of E. Phillips 
& Sons. They manufacture nails, roll sheet, 
zinc, and lead, and when running under full 
capacity turn nut five tons of nails daily, giv- 
ing employment to sixty-five jiersons. In 
1886 Mr. Edward M. Sweeney entered the 
firm as partner. In politics Mr. Phillips 
affiliates with tlie Kepublican party. 



B 



R. .STKPHl'lX HENRY has been 
engaged in the practice of dentistry 
in Marshfield since 1861, and enjoys 
the confidence and esteem of the public, at 
least three generations having tested and 
proved his ability in his profession. He was 
born in Stoughton, Norfolk County, Mass., 
December 4, 1829, a son of William and Lucy 
C. (Tilson) Henry. On the paternal side 
his first ancestor to locate in Stoughton 
settled there as early as 1740; and many 
members of the family, including our subject's 
father, were born in that town. William 
Henry was a millwright iiy trade. His wife, 
Lucy C. (Tilson) Henry, who was of Pilgrim 
stock, was born in the town of Wareham, 
Mass. 

Stephen Henry was reared in Stoughton, and 
educated in the public schools. He learned 
the millwright's trade with his father, and fol- 
lowed it until about thirty years old, then 
taking uj) the study and practice of dentistry. 
In i860 he started an independent practice, 
and in 1861 he opened an oflfice in Marshfield. 
Added to his natural ability, his long experi- 
ence has perfected his skill ; and he keeps well 
u]) with the progress of the times, noting and 
profiting by every new discovery in his profes- 
sion. 

Dr. Henry nWfrried .Miss Jane Weston, a 
native of Marshfield, and daughter of Caj)tain 
William West<in, a former resident of this 



372 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



town, but now deceased. They have one 
child — Helen M., a young lady of rare abil- 
ity, who has taken the degree of Doctor of 
Dental Surgery at the Boston Dental College, 
and is now practising dentistry in Kingston, 
Mass. Dr. Stephen Henry votes with the Re- 
publican party. He is well known in Plym- 
outh County, and has many friends. 



/^STkORGE a. WOODWARD, superin- 
V 5T tendent of the manufacturing plant of 
the widely-known Hub Gore Com- 
pany at Rockland, Mass., was born in Derby- 
shire, England, February 27, 1861, a son of 
Albert Charles and Esther (Tetley) Wood- 
ward. Albert Woodward, who was a native of 
Derby, England, died in Paterson, N.J., at 
the age of forty-five. Mrs. Woodward was 
born in Derby, England. She is the mother 
of nine children, si.v of whom are living, 
George A. being next to the youngest. 

George A. Woodward was eleven years old 
when he came to this country, and it was here 
that he acquired his education. He worked 
as cash boy in a store in Boston until si.xteen 
years of age, in the mean time attending an 
evening school. Naturally bright, he almost 
unconsciously trained himself for a business 
career through his associations and by observ- 
ing the ways and methods of successful men. 
After leaving the Boston store he entered a 
weaving factory in Chelsea, Mass., and there 
he remained until he was twenty-three, learn- 
ing the business practically and thoroughly. 
He was subsequently employed by weaving 
firms in Boston and in Wallingford, Conn., 
and in 1890 he removed to Rockland, going 
to work in the factory of the Hub Gore Com- 
pany. Here his ability and trustworthiness 
were soon recognized, and two years ago he 
was made superintendent of the factory on 



Park Street, Rockland. The Hub Gore is 
widely known through advertising, and the 
congress shoes fitted with this gore are un- 
doubtedly the best in the market. The com- 
pany's principal office is at 91 Bedford Street, 
Boston. They have a large and flourishing 
plant, and Mr. Woodward's position is one of 
great responsibility. 

Mr. Woodward was married in 1883 to 
Florence Whitmore, of Chelsea, Mass., and 
he has a family of four bright and promising 
children — -Chester Arthur, Ernest Carlton, 
Florence Ethel, and Marion Louise. In poli- 
tics he favors the Republican side. Though 
in Rockland but a comparatively short time, 
he stands well in the community, and may be 
regarded as a representative citizen. He is a 
member of Standish Lodge, 177, Independent 
Order of Odd F"ellows. 



/^STeORGE GUSTAVUS DYER, late 
V ^5T President of the Old Colony Na- 
tional Bank, who died at his home 
in Plymouth in January, i8gi, was during 
his active life one of the most prominent men 
in the financial and religious circles of the 
town. He was born in South Abington, now 
Whitman, Mass., August 20, 1825. He was 
a son of Christopher, third, and Betsey (Por- 
ter) Dyer, and grandson of Christopher, sec- 
ond, and Deborah (Reed) Dyer. The grand- 
father of Christopher Dyer, second, was Will- 
iam Dyer, of Weymouth, Mass. On the 
paternal side Mr. George G. Dyer claimed 
descent from Peregrine White, who was born 
on the "Mayflower" in Cape Cod Harbor. 

The Dyer family dates back to the reign of 
Alfred the Great in the English genealogical 
records, and some of its members are now 
holding titles in the English peerage. 
Among the first of the name who came to 




GEORGE G. DYER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



375 



America were William ami Mary Dyer (or 
Dyre) ; and the fate of the latter was a tragedy 
and a bl<>t upon the pages tif Boston's Colonial 
history, for there on the Common Mary Dyer 
was hanged as a Quaker in 1660. She left 
a son William, a son Samuel, a Charles, and 
other children. One Thomas Dyer and his 
wife Agnes arrived in Hoston in 1632, and 
settled in Weymouth. He had five sons and 
three daughters. The family motto of the 
Dyers is: "To affright I would not, to fear 
I know not," and many of the name have 
liveil up to the standard of the couplet. 

George G. Dyer was educated at Andover 
Academy, ami began his business career as a 
book-kee])er in the wholesale boot and shoe 
store of Samuel Blake in Boston. From 1852 
to the time of his death he was connected with 
the Old Colony National Bank, holding the 
offices of Cashier, Director, and President 
successively. lie was its cashier at the time 
of his marriage in 1S52 to Miss Mary A. 
Bartlett Sampson, daughter of Schuyler Samp- 
son and Mary Ann (Bartlett) Samj^son. Mrs. 
Dyer's father, Schuyler Sampson, was a lineal 
descendant of Abraham Sampson, who came to 
New England about 1629, and whose brother 
Henry came in the "Mayflower" in 1620, but 
was too young to have his name ajipear on the 
famous compact signed by the Pilgrims on the 
27th of November. Abraham Sampson was a 
surveyor of highways in 1648, and a Constable 
of Du.xbury in 1653. His son George was the 
father of George (second) and grandfather of 
Zabdiel, whose son George (third) was the 
father of Schuyler Sampson. As the second 
George Sampson married Hannah .Soule, a 
great-graiuklaughter of Captain Miles Stan- 
dish and of John Alden, Mrs. George G. Dyer 
counts among her ancestors the famous mili- 
tary commander of the Plymouth Colony and 
John and Priscilla Aklen. 



The family history abounds in interesting 
details, of which a few may here be noted. 
Deborah Sampson, a great-granddaughter of 
Isaac Sampson, son of Abraham, is renowned 
for having served three years in the ranks of 
the Revolutionary army under the name of 
Robert Shurtleff. Another treasured story of 
heroism is told of .Mrs. Dyer's great-grand- 
father, Zabdiel Samjjson, who, during the 
French and Indian War of 1756, was taken 
prisoner by the Indians and was tied to a tree 
as a target for tomahawks, which were thrown 
at him, but strange to .say did not inflict fatal 
wounds. His life was preserved through that 
danger; and he fell as a brave soldier in the 
Revolutionary War, some years after, at the 
battle of Harlem. 

Schuyler Sampson was born in Plympton, 
Mass., January 16, 1797. He was educated 
in the common schools of that town, and 
started out in life as a merchant in Western 
Virginia, where he was engaged in business 
some years. Later on he was for a while the 
store-keeper of the Plymouth Cordage Com- 
pany, becoming afterward Collector of Cus- 
toms of the Port of Plymouth. The latter 
office he held for twelve years; and he was 
also Superintendent of Plymouth Beach for 
three year.s, or from 1852 to the date of his 
death, March 31, 1855. He was connected 
with the Old Colony Bank from the time of 
its organization, in 1S32, till the end of his 
life, being chosen one of the first directors, 
then cashier, and finally President. Mr. 
Sampson filled many municipal offices. He 
was a Selectman of Plymouth ; a charter mem- 
ber of Plymouth Lodge, A. 1". & A. M., 
which was organized in 1S25; and a Trustee 
of the Pilgrim Society. He was a member of 
the Pilgrimage Church, in which he was ac- 
tively interested, serving as its Sunday-school 
Superintendent for a number of years. 



376 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He was manied August 13, 1823, to Miss 
Mary Ann Bartlett, a daughter of Captain 
Amasa Bartlett, of Plymouth, where she was 
born September 9, 1798. Mrs. Mary A. Bart- 
lett Sampson passed from earth on the 3d of 
September, 1825, in the twenty-seventh year 
of her age, leaving her infant daughter, Mary 
Ann, a babe of five months. Schuyler Samp- 
son married September 30, 1827, his first 
wife's sister, Sarah T. (Bartlett) Bishop, 
widow of William l^ishop, of I'lymouth. She 
died August 23, i 848. The three children born 
of this second marriage were: Sarah T. B. ; 
George S. , who died at the age of about 
one year; and Hannah 15. Miss Mary A. B. 
Sampson was educated at Bradford Academy 
and in the private schools of her native town, 
Plymouth. She was twenty-seven years of 
age when she became the wife of Mr. George 
G. Dyer. The three children born of their 
union were: George S., who is at present 
Town Treasurer of Plymouth; Horace White, 
who died at about two years of age; and Mary 
Schuyler. George S. Dyer married Ada ]?. 
Smith, daughter of Dryden Smith, M. D., of 
Biddeford, Me. They have two children : 
George Webster, born May 21, 1888; and 
Loring, born September 4, i8go. Mary 
Schuyler Dyer was married June 11, i8gi, to 
James W. Cooper, a druggist. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cooper have one child — Willard Ashley, now 
three years of age. 

George G. Dyer was one of the Trustees of 
the Pilgrim Society and was an active worker 
in the Church of the Pilgrimage, with which 
he was connected by membership for a quarter 
of a century. This church is of orthodo.x doc- 
trine and creed, and Mr. Dyer was a teacher 
in its Sunday-school for twenty years, and a 
Deacon for twenty -five years. In the various 
relations of life George G. Dyer was faithful 
and diligent; and his death, at the age of 



sixty-five years and eight months, caused uni- 
versal and sincere sorrow among the citizens 
of Plymouth, for he was popular, admired, and 
respected. His widow is still a resident of 
the old town in which for so man}' generations 
her own as well as her husband's family has 
held such a prominent place. 




ALTON HALL, a resident of 
Marshfield, was born in this town, 
March 3, 1856, son of Tilden and 
Hetty (Jones) Hall. His father, Tilden Hall, 
who was a native of Marshfield, in early man- 
hood followed the occupation of a ship carpen- 
ter, but during his last years was engaged in 
shoemaking. He was for some time Postmas- 
ter at Marshfield Hills. He died in Marsh- 
field in 1888. His wife, who was born in 
Barnstable, Mas.s. , died in 1889. 

Walton Hall was educated in his native 
town, attending school until fifteen years of 
age. He then entered the employ of Whiton 
Brothers, cordage manufacturers, of Boston, 
for whom he worked nine years, at the end of 
that time becoming a member of the firm. 
Since 1895 the house has been known as P'ear- 
ing, Hall & Whiton. They act mainly as 
agents for mills. Mr. Hall has been Presi- 
dent of the Marshfield Agricultural and Horti- 
cultural Society for two years. In 1885 Mr. 
Hall purchased the old Daniel Webster estate, 
and while carefully preserving all its historic 
features, he has made many improvements in 
the property, materially increasing its value. 
The original house in which Webster spent so 
many pleasant hours was burned in 1880. The 
present house stands far back from the road, 
and the grounds in front are shaded by mag- 
nificent trees, standing just as they did in the 
great stateman's day. The estate contains 
about eight hundred acres, and to the fruit- 



BIOGRAl'lIICAL RKVIKW 



377 



trees planted in Webster's time Mr. Hall has 
added many others, so that he is now owner of 
one of the finest orehards in Plymouth County, 
and that yields in a fruit year two thousand 
hairels, lie has in his |)ossession many ar- 
ticles that once l)el<)ni;ed to Webster. 



M 



i:.\C()N NATHANIEL ELLIS is 
a well-known citizen of Plymouth, 
ri\niouth County, Mass., and by oc- 
cupation a farmer. He was born in llllisville, 
in the town of Plymouth, November i, 1818, 
a son of Nathaniel and Remember (Swift) 
I'AWs. He is a representative of an old and 
respected family of Plvmouth County. 

Erom the Ellis records given in .Mr. Will- 
iam T. Davis's "Ancient Landmarks," we 
gather that the elder Nathaniel, who was mar- 
ried in 1810, was the seventh child of Thomas 
and Jerusha (Clark) l^llis, who were married 
in 1767. Thomas, born in 1764, is said to 
have been a son of William I'Mlis, Jr., and 
grandson of William, Sr. , who was "perhaps 
son of Matthias " Ellis. 

The first Nathaniel Ellis had his birth in 
this famous town, and, like his father, fol- 
lowed here during all of his mature years the 
honored calling of a farmer. He married Miss 
Remember Swift, also a native of Plymouth, 
and of their union were born five children, 
namely: William, who is now deceased ; Cur- 
tis, also deceased; Nathaniel; Betsy; and 
Lucy. Mr. Nathaniel Ellis, Sr., departed 
this life on November 26, i.S'58, in his si.xty- 
seventh year, and his wife on May 14, 1877, 
at the venerable age of eighty-one years. 

Their son, Nathaniel I'^llis, now Deacon 
Ellis, attained to man's estate on the ances- 
tral farm in Plymouth, enjoying but limited 
educational privileges in his youth. On 
reaching his majority he began life for him- 



self, shipping on a coasting-vessel. After 
remaining on board that craft about a year he 
sailed for half a dozen years on a steamboat, 
and at the termination of that period he came 
back to Plymouth, where he has made his home 
from that day to this. He owns and carries 
on about si.xty acres of land, tilling the soil 
and feeding stock; and he likewise devotes 
considerable attention to teaming. On No- 
i vember 26, 1845, he married Miss Nancy 
' Swift, a native of Plymouth, and a daughter of 
William Swift. One child was born to them, 
a son, Wallace H. by name, who passed away 
in his seventeenth year. 

Deacon E^llis has ever taken an active inter- 
est in the civic and social affairs of his 
community, and he has served his fellow- 
townsmen for four years in the capacity of 
Road Surveyor. In national political views 
he is identified with the Republican party. 
Religiously, he is intimately associated with 
the Congregational church of Plymouth, 
which he serves in the important and respon- 
sible position indicated by his title, jjartici- 
pating freely and earnestly in its Christian 

work. 

< ■■ ■ > 

LGERNON S. CHANDLER, a well- 
known citizen of Kingston, was born 
in Duxbury, November 22, 1S3S, 
son of Captain David and Edith (Chandler) 
Chandler. He is a descendant of one of the 
early settlers of Plymouth County. His 
grandfather, Asa Chaniller, was a resident of 
Duxbury. 

Captain Davit! Chandler, father of Algernon 
S., was born in Duxbury, and acquired a com- 
mon-school education. In his earlier years 
he followed the sea, and as master of vessels 
visited many parts of the world. He served 
in the War of 1S12; anil, after his retirement 
from the sea, he settled in his native town. 




378 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



where he presided for many years. He took 
an active and leading part in local affairs, 
being especially interested in educational 
matters; and, as he was well versed in com- 
mon law, he rendered much service to his 
neighbors as a legal adviser, and in the settle- 
ment of estates. Toward the latter part of his 
life he moved to a farm in Kingston, where he 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He also 
operated a mill for the manufacturing of bo.\ 
boards and shingles, and achieved marked suc- 
cess as a business man. In politics he was 
originally a Whig, but later joined the Repub- 
lican party. In his religious views he was a 
Unitarian. He died in Kingston in his 
eighty-third year. His wife, Edith Chandler, 
who was a native of Kingston, was a daughter 
of Nathan Chandler, who was a soldier in the 
War of 1812. Of her children there are three 
survivors: Rebecca, widow of Francis Sears, 
a late resident of Du.xbury; Algernon S., the 
subject of this sketch; and Edith, who is the 
wife of Walter Baker, of Kingston. 

Algernon S. Chandler was educated in the 
common schools of his native town, and at 
the age of sixteen he accompanied his parents 
to Kingston. He assisted upon the farm and 
in the mill until his father's retirement, when 
he took charge of the business, and carried it 
on successfully for several years. Some time 
since he retired from active business pursuits, 
and, moving to the village, is now occupying 
a pleasantly located residence on Main Street. 
Mr. Chandler wedded Sophia Wright Maglath- 
lin, daughter of Elisha Maglathlin, late of 
Kingston, and has one daughter, Edith W., 
who is the wife of Preston E. Foss, of South 
Braintree, Mass. Politically, Mr. Chandler 
favors the Democratic party, but votes inde- 
pendently. He has served with ability as 
Road Surveyor, and is numbered among the 
prominent well-to-do residents of Kingston. 



]^ji!lIS H. CORNISH, M.D., a physi- 
Jpl cian of Carver, Plymouth County, 
Mass., where he has been engaged in 
the practice of his profession for nearly thirty 
years, was born in Halifax, this county, 
August 24, 1840, being a son of Ellis 
Cornish, a citizen of that place. 

He was reared on a farm, and educated in 
the common and high schools of his native 
town. After finishing his general studies he 
taught school for four years, during the winter 
terms, in the mean time studying medicine. 
He was for some time under the tuition of Dr. 
Robert Proran, of South Boston, Mass., and 
took the regular course at the Harvard Med- 
ical School, receiving his degree in March, 
1867. After practising in Boston a few 
months he located in Carver, where he has 
since conducted a successful practice. Dr. 
Cornish worked hard to qualify himself for his 
profession, and he has worked harder still 
during the years of his professional life in 
Carver. He is well known throughout the 
locality, and is highly esteemed, not only by 
the patients who owe to him their release from 
bodily ills, but also by those whose relations 
with him are merely social. 

January i, 1868, Dr. Cornish was united in 
marriage with Miss Nancy L. Pratt, of Bridge- 
water. He has had thirteen children; 
namely, Ellis G. , Virgina H., Berenice E., 
Anson F. , William E. , Gertrutle I*"., Nancy 
A., Solon W., Paul D., Blanche E., Izette A. 
and Irene A. (twins), and Beulah (deceased). 
In politics Dr. Cornish favors the Republican 
side, but has not sought office, his professional 
work demanding all his time and attention. 
He is a member of the Baptist church, and, 
though a scientific man by the nature of his 
profession, he sees no conflict between science 
and Christianity, when both are rightly under- 
stood. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



379 



K. WILLIAM LINCOLN REED, 
retired shoe manufacturer of Brock- 
ton, Mass., is well known in Plym- 
outh Countv, ami is universally loved and re- 
spected, lie was born in Abington, this 
county, October 5, 1825, a son of Isaac and 
Nancy (Lincoln) Reed. The common an- 

cestor of the Reed family was Brianus, a 
noted man of Lincolnsliirc, luigiand, who in 
1139 was registered as Brianus de Rede. He 
had three sons: Robert of Rede; William, 
Bishop of Chichester; and Thomas, of Red- 
yale. Passing over many noted names, repre- 
sentatives of different generations of the 
family in England, we come to William 
Reade, "supposed to be the .son of William 
Reade and Lucy Henage," born in 1605, who 
.sailed from Gravesend, England, in 1635. 
He settled in Weymouth, Mass., and was 
made freeman September 2, 1635. (See 
"History of the Reed Family," by Jacob W. 
Reed. Published in 1861.) 

From William Reed, of Weymouth, the 
line is thus traced: William, Thomas, 
Thomas, Daniel, Thomas, and Isaac, to Will- 
iam Lincoln Reed, of Brockton, who is of the 
seventh generation from his Colonial ancestor. 
His grandfather, Thomas Reed, who was the 
possessor of extensive landed estates, was a 
man of unusual strength of character. He 
had a large frame, standing over si.\ feet in 
height, and was endowed with great i«)wers of 
endurance. Isaac Reeil, son of Tiiomas, was 
a well-to-do farmer, a worthy and highly re- 
spected citizen. He died in 1847. His wife, 
Nancy, who was a daughter of Caleb Lincoln, 
of Taunton, Mass., whose ancestors were 
among the early and prominent settlers of 
Taunton and Hingham, died in 1S74. 

Their son, William L. Reed, the subject of 
this sketch, received a common-school educa- 
tion in his native town. His first work was 



on his father's farm; but agricultural labor 
was not to his taste, and he learned the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he followed for a num- 
ber of years. In 1853 he started in business 
as a shoe manufacturer, in a shop connected 
with his house, cutting his stock, and sending 
it out to be made up. Two years later his in- 
creasing business demanded more commodious 
quarters, and he moved into rooms over the 
store of Randall Cook, where he remained five 
years. In i860 he built what was then con- 
sidered a large factory, near the railroad sta- 
tion at South Abington (now Whitman); and 
in 1866 he formed a copartnership with 
Joseph Burrage, of Boston, under the firm 
name of Burrage & Reed. This partnership 
lasted si.x years, Mr. Burrage dying in 1862; 
and Mr. Reed's ne.xt associate was David B. 
Closson, of Boston. Soon after changing the 
firm name to Reed & Closson, he enlarged his 
factory, and in 1879, a further addition being 
requireil, the factory was lengthened by 
eighty-two feet. It was then two hundred 
and thirty-two feet long, thirty-five feet wide, 
and four stories high. About three hun- 
dred hands were employed, and the business 
amounted annually to over four hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars. In 1883 the factory, 
with all its costly machinery and a large 
amount of raw material, was destroyed by fire; 
and Mr. Reed did not take the trouble to re- 
build. Since that time he has not been in 
active business. He was engaged in manu- 
facturing for thirty-five years, and in the latter 
part of that period he had a business of over 
half a million dollars a year; and he takes 
pride in the fact that he has always paid dollar 
for dollar. 

Mr. Reed has been twice married. His 
first wife, to whom he was united June 6, 
1847, was Deborah W. , daughter of Ziba 
Chessman, of Weymouth, Mass. She died in 



3So 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Whitman in 1884, leaving three children: 
Walter Lincoln Reed, who lives on the Reed 
homestead in Whitman; Anna Gertrude, the 
wife of George E. Keith, of Campello; and 
Sarah Chessman, who married the Rev. John 
T. Blades, a former pastor of the South Con- 
gregational Church of Campello, and after his 
death became the wife of Rufus B. Keith, of 
Campello, a sketch of whom may be found on 
another page. Two other children, an infant 
daughter, and a boy of six years, named Will- 
iam Bradford, died before the mother passed 
away. On June 15, 1887, Mr. Reed was again 
married, to Mrs. Georgietta A. Richardson 
Clark, of Brockton, formerly of Medford, 
Mass.; and one of liis wedding presents was 
a handsome gold watch, ]iresciited by his 
townsmen in Whitman. 

Mr. Reed is a Republican, and has been 
elected to several important positions of 
public trust. He was in the State legislature 
in 1858 and 1859, representing Abington, and 
in the latter year served on the Joint Com- 
mittee on Towns. In 1865 he was elected to 
the State Senate from the Second Plymouth 
District, and served on the Standing Com- 
mittee on Leave of Absence, the Joint Com- 
mittee on Prisons, and the Joint Special 
Committee on Annexation of Roxbury to Bos- 
ton. He was returned to the Senate in 1866, 
and served as Chairman of the Joint Com- 
mittee on Prisons and the Joint Special Com- 
mittee on Cost of State Aid; and, re-elected 
in 1867, he presided as Chairman of the same 
committees, and was a member of the Com- 
mittee on the Hoosac Tunnel and the Troy & 
Greenfield Railroad. He was a member of 
Governor Claflin's Council, from the Second 
Councillor District, for i87oand 1871, was a 
member of Governor Washburn's Council in 
1872, serving on the Committees on Hoosac 
Tunnel, Troy & Greenfield Railroad, Military 



Affairs, and the Boston, Hartford & Erie 
Railroad. 

He is prominent in the Masonic brother- 
hood, having first joined in 1861 the John 
Cutter Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Abington, 
from which he withdrew to join the Puritan 
Lodge at South Abington (Whitman), of 
which he is a charter member. He belongs 
to Pilgrim Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; is a 
charter member of the Old Colony Command- 
ery of Knights Templars; and has held the 
chairs of Select Master, Royal Master, and 
Super-excellent Master in the Boston Council 
of Royal and Select Masters. He withdrew 
from the Boston Council to become a member 
of the Abington Council. Mr. Reed belongs 
to the Commercial Club of Brockton, an asso- 
ciation of prominent business men. He 
attends public worship at the New Jerusalem 
church (Swedenborgian) ; and, though not a 
professing Christian, in his life he has always 
exemplified the essential rules of Christian 
conduct, and he has been a liberal contributor 
to religious projects. 

Endowed with a keen sense of honor and 
actuated by sound ethical principles, he has 
acquired popularity even among his political 
opponents; and his genial and attractive man- 
ners and active interest in all local improve- 
ments have won the regard of his townsmen. 
As an evidence of the esteem in which he is 
held, it may be stated that after the burning 
of his factory a citizens' meeting was called 
at South Abington to express sympathy for his 
loss. On this occasion ex-Congressman Ben- 
jamin W. Harris spoke in part, as follows: 
" I came over from my home to express my 
deep sympathy for my friend, the Hon. Will- 
iam L. Reed. I have known Mr. Reed for 
more than thirty years. He began life as a 
mechanic at the bottom of the ladder, and by 
untiring industry, strict economy, and unvary- 




AUGUSTUS COLE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



i!^i 



ini;' intcL,Mity lias won his way up to his high 
position as a successful business man in the 
community. He is entitled to active and 
helj)ful sympathy. My acquaintance with him 
has been largely in the social and public rela- 
tion. In public trust, as well as in business 
relations, he has made an honorable and 
eniluring record. During his long public 
service I have yet to hear of his lacking any- 
thing of strict integrity and honorable pur- 
pose. In his business life he has attained an 
equally enviable reputation." Mr. Reed has 
many friends in Whitman, where he resided 
for si.xty years, where his first wife died, and 
where his son is now livins:. 




UGUSTUS COLK, formerly of the 
enterprising firm of Cole & Jenkins, 
grain dealers at Scituate Harbor, is 
now engaged in farming in Scituate. A son of 
Captain Augustus and Sallie J. (Turner) Cole, 
botli natives of this town, he was born January 
I, 1828, on the farm on which he now resides. 
He is of old New ICngland stock, representing 
the sixth generation in this country of his 
father's family, and the seventh of his 
mother's. 

The first of his paternal ancestors in Plym- 
outh County was James Cole, a native of Kent, 
England, who settled in Scituate on land now 
owned by E. Parker Welch. Captain Augus- 
tus Cole was born in the part of Scituate 
which now constitutes the town of Norwell, 
and was a lifelong resident of Scituate. His 
title was conferred upon him as Commander of 
a company of militia. He was well known 
and i)opular, and took an active part in the 
councils of the local Democrats. His wife 
was a daughter of Nathaniel Turner, a de- 
scendant of Humphrey Turner, one of the 
pioneer settlers in Scituate. Of their chil- 



dren two are living: Augustus, whose name 
appears at the head of this article; and Esther, 
wife of H. G. H. Reed. 

Augustus Cole, as he grew to manhood, 
acquired a good education in public and pri- 
vate schools of Scituate. After finishing his 
studies he was engaged for a number of years 
in general farming on the home estate; and 
then, purchasing a grist-mill at Scituate 
Harbor, he developed a large and prosperous 
trade in grinding and selling grain of different 
kinds, and trailing in merchandise between 
Scituate and New York. Mr. David S. 
Jenkins was associated with him, the firm 
name being Cole & Jenkins. For a number 
of years they conducted a successful business; 
then the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. 
Cole was employed for some time as purchas- 
ing agent on the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & 
Western Railroad. In 1883 he retired from 
business, and settled on his farm in Scituate. 

In November, 1849, he was united in mar- 
riage with Paulina Brown, daughter of the late 
William Brown, of Scituate. Six children 
have blessed their union, four of whom are 
living; namely, Charles A., Frank H., Ed- 
ward A., and Henry T. Mr. Cole votes the 
Democratic ticket. He is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, belonging to Satuit Lodge 
of Scituate. 




TIS WHITE, a well-to-do farmer of 
Duxbury, was born in the house he 
now occupies, November 12, 1830, 
son of Briggs and Judith (Ransom) White. 
Mr. White's great-grandfather. Carpus White, 
is believetl to have been killed in one of the 
early wars, and his grandfather, Joseph White, 
was a resident of Duxbury. 

Briggs White, father of Otis, was a lifelong 
resident of this town, and owned the farm 
which is now the property of his son. For 



384 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



some time he followed the trade of a tanner; 
but his principal occupation was general farm- 
ing, and he tilled the soil with prosperity 
until his death, which took place in 1847. 
In politics he supported the Whig part}', and 
he attended the Unitarian church. His wife, 
Judith, survived him for many years, dying in 
the fall of 1 88 1. Of her children there are 
three survivors, namely: Otis, the subject of 
this sketch; Mary, wife of William T. Will- 
cott, of Duxbury; and Emma, who resides in 
this town. 

Otis White was educated in the common 
schools of Duxbury, and at an early age en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits at the home- 
stead. He succeeded to the ownership of the 
property, which consists of two hundred acres 
of fertile land, and he devotes his attention to 
general farming. Capable and industrious, 
he has attained a high degree of prosperity, 
and is considered by his fellow-townsmen 
as one of the most wealthy farmers in Dux- 
bury. Mr. White is unmarried. In politics 
he acts with the Republican party. He has 
witnessed with satisfaction the advance and 
improvement of this historic town, and he 
possesses in high measure the esteem and good 
will of his fellow-citizens. 




\ELEG T. BROOKS, agent for the 
New York & Boston Despatch Com- 
pany in Kingston, was born in Dux- 
bury, Mass., in Ma)', 1830, son of Nathan and 
Caroline (Tupper) Brooks. Mr. Brooks's 
father was a native of Scituate, Mass., and a 
descendant of an early settler of that town. 
He was a hatter by trade, and in young man- 
hood settled in Duxbury. but some time later 
moved to Kingston, where he resided for over 
fifty years. He served for twenty-eight con- 
secutive years as Town Clerk, Treasurer, and 



Collector, and was a Representative to the 
legislature for one term. He was a self-made 
man, who was obliged to make his own way in 
life from early boyhood, and by his death, 
which took place in 1882, Kingston lost one 
of its most able and useful citizens. He was 
for many years identified with the Unitarian 
church, and at times officiated as a Deacon. 
His wife, Caroline Tupper Brooks, was a 
native of Kingston. She died in 1877. 

Peleg T. Brooks accompanied his parents to 
Kingston when he was three years old, and his 
education was acquired in the common schools 
of this town. In early manhood he learned 
the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a 
number of years. Subsequently relinquishing 
that calling, he was for a time employed in a 
livery stable here. He was later engaged in 
driving a stage coach from Duxbury to Kings- 
ton, which he continued to do for twenty 
years; and during this time he established 
what was known as Brooks Express, for the 
purpose of transporting merchandise between 
Duxbury and Boston, by the way of Kingston. 
When the South Shore Railroad was extended 
through Duxbury, he was forced to abandon 
the stage business, and also the express busi- 
ness, as far as that town was concerned, but 
continued to attend to the Kingston branch of 
his line until he consolidated with the New 
York & Boston Despatch Company, a few 
years ago. Besides being the agent of this 
company in Kingston, he has a financial in- 
terest in the enterprise. 

Mr. Brooks is a Democrat politically, and 
has long been identified with public affairs in 
Kingston. For a number of years he served 
as Registrar of Voters ; and he represented 
the Second Plymouth District in the legisla- 
ture for the years 1886 and 1887, during which 
time he was a member of the Committee on 
Roads and Bridges. He is a member of 



i 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



38s 



Corner Stone Lodge, A. V. & A. M., of Dux- 
bury; is a charter member of Adams Lodge^ 
Intlependent Order of Odd l'"ellows, of Kings- 
ton ; and is widely and favorably known as an 
upright, intelligent, and useful citizen. 



M 



R. GKORGK L. NMCWCOMH is an 
old and reliable physician of North 
Scituate, having been in active prac- 
tice here for over thirty years. Dr. Newcomb 
obtained his initial practice in surgery in 
military hospitals at the time of the war, and 
has the skill and insight peculiar to army sur- 
geons, lie was born in Scituate, March 19, 
1832, a son of Captain Levi and Joan (Stud- 
ley) Newcomb. Levi Newcomb was born in 
I'rovincetown, and, like most of the boys of 
the old Ca])e town, went to sea when quite 
young. He sailed as captain for a number of 
years, and then, retiring, settled in Scituate. 
In politics he was a Republican. He died in 
1879, aged ninety-one. Mrs. Newcomb, who 
was born in Scituate, was a daughter of Lewis 
and Lucy (Dunbar) Studley. Lewis Studley 
was a house carpenter, a well-known citizen of 
Scituate. His wife was a daughter of Squire 
Jesse Dunbar, a leading man of Scituate 
Harbor. Mrs. Newcomb lived to be even 
older than iicr husband, attaining the great 
age of ninety-three. She passed away No- 
vember 13, icSgS- 

George L. Newcomb receivetl his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of Scituate, and 
after leaving school was employed for a while 
as clerk in a store in Cohasset. He read 
medicine for two years before the breaking 
out of the war with Dr. Clark, a reputable 
jihysician of Scituate, and Dr. Thomas Deer- 
ing, a prominent medical practitioner of 
Hraintree, Mass. In the fall of 1862, under 
a special call from President Lincoln, he was 



enrolled in the United .States service for one 
year, and, assigned to the hospital depart- 
ment at Washington, was on duty for some 
time in the Lincoln and Clifburne Hospitals. 
The experience gained here was of much value 
in his after life, the quick and diligent prac- 
tice availing more than years of study of the- 
ory. After returning from Washington he 
attended lectures at the Harvard Medical 
School until qualified in all branches of his 
profession, and then opened an office at St. 
Albans, \'t. In 1866 he located in North 
.Scituate, his home since that time. Hesides 
his local visiting list, Dr. Newcomb has 
many outside patients. He is widely known, 
and enjoys the confidence and esteem of the 
public. In politics he favors the Democratic 
side. He is deeply interested in the welfare 
of his native place, and always ready to aid its 
progress. 



< ^ • > » 



OSICrU ADAMS NEWHALL, a 
retired business man of Hingham, 
Plymouth County, formerly of the 
well-known manufacturing firm of Ripley & 
Newhall, was born in Lynn, Mass., on June 
12, 1822. His parents were Allen and Martha 
(Adams) Newhall, and his paternal grand- 
father was Allen Newhall, Sr. , who was born 
in Lynn, March 6, 1771, and was a shoemaker 
by trade. 

The family is one of the oldest in I^sscx 
County. The two immigrant progenitors were 
Thomas and Anthony Newhall, brothers, who 
came, it is sujjposed, from England. Ac- 
cording to the genealogical record of the early 
American Newhalls in the "Essex Institute 
Historical Collections," volumes .Will, and 
XIX., Allen Newhall, Sr., above mentioneil, 
was a son of Hanson Newhall; and from him 
the line is traced back through Joseph, who is 
thought to have been the father of Hanson; 



386 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Samuel, father of Joseph; and Thomas, sec- 
ond, father of Saumel; to Thomas, first, who 
settled in Lynn about 1630. Thomas, sec- 
ond, is said to have been the first child of 
luiropean parentage born in Lynn. 

Allen Newhali, son of Allen, Sr., born in 
Lynn, Mass., on December 7, 1793, learned 
the shoemaker's trade, which he followed dur- 
ing the greater part of his mature life in Dor- 
chester, Mass. In politics he was a Whig. 
He married Martha, daughter of Joseph 
Adams, of Danvers, Mass. They had six 
children, only two of whom are lining: Joseph 
Adams, the subject of this biography; and 
Martha Frances, who married Waterman 
Thomas Burrell, of Weymouth, Mass., and has 
two children — Waterman Thomas and Mary 
Waterman. Allen Newhali died in Dor- 
chester, at the age of fifty-five; and his wife, 
who was born Ajiril 5, 1796, died in Hing- 
ham, Mass., in 1878, aged eighty-two years. 
They were both highly respected members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Joseph A. Newhali, the eldest son and child 
of his parents, acquired his education in the 
Dorchester schools; and when quite young he 
learned the cabinet-maker's trade in Milton, 
Mass., where he remained four years, working 
for a short time thereafter in Boston. For the 
ne.xt two years he was located in Dorchester, 
and the year following in Ouincy, Mass. In 
1840, after a short sojourn in Dorchester, he 
came to Hingham, and worked one year at his 
trade. Then, buying a half-interest in the 
N. Ripley & Co. firm, he engaged in the man- 
ufacture of all kinds of first-class furniture, 
the firm's name becoming Ripley & Newhali. 
This partnership lasted nearly forty years, Mr. 
Newhali retiring from business in 1880. 

Mr. Newhali was first married to Lucy Ann 
Lincoln, daughter of Marshall and Lucy 
(Stoddard) Lincoln. She was born in Ming- 



ham, April 16, 1822, and dietl September 3, 
1850, at the age of twenty-eight, leaving one 
son, Joseph Adams, who died in infancy. On 
October 28, 185 i, Mr. Newhali married his first 
wife's sister, Elizabeth Waterman Lincoln. 

Marshall Lincoln, the father of the two 
Mrs. Newhalls, was a son of Joseph Lincoln, 
born in Hingham, December 28, 1753, who 
married July i, 1784, .Susanna Marsh, a 
daughter of Ephraim Marsh, of this town, and 
had a family of seven children, Marshall being 
the second-born. His grandfather, Joseph 
Lincoln, Sr., served in the War of 1S12, on 
the armed brig "Hazard," and was taken 
prisoner at Halifax in 18 14, when Canada was 
invaded. He died April 13, 1816. 

Stephen Stoddard, father of Mrs. Lucy 
Stoddard Lincoln, was born in Hingham, Sep- 
tember 5, 1756, and died October 6, 1835, 
aged seventy-nine years. In the war of the 
Revolution he served as a non-commissioned 
officer in Colonel Greaton's regiment, in 1775 
at Nantasket, and subsequently in New York 
and Rhode Island. He was present at the 
surrender of Burgoyne. His first wife, Lucy, 
died in 1789, aged thirty-four years; and his 
second wife, Mary, died November 12, 1854, 
aged eighty-nine years. 

In politics Mr. Newhali affiliates with the 
Republican party. Fraternally, he is identi- 
fied with Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
of Hingham, officiating as one of the Stew- 
ards. Personally, he is a man of sterling 
character, highly respected as merchant, citi- 
zen, and friend. In religious belief he and 
his wife are Universalists. 



AMES N. TURNER, a resident of 
Scituate, and a descendant of one of its 
founders, was born in this town, May 
28, 1S34, son of Nathaniel and Mary (Ellms) 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



387 



Turner. His parents were natives of this town, 
as was also liis granclfatlior, Nathaniel Turner; 
and the family trace their lineage directly to 
Humphrey Turner, a member of the colony 
from Kent, Kiigland, which settled here soon 
after the establishment of the Plymouth Col- 
ony. Nathaniel Turner, father of James N., 
followed the sea for more tlian twenty years. 
He passed his last years upon tiie farm which 
is now occu]iicd by his son, and died May 31, 
1872, being nearly seventy years old. His 
wife, Mary ICllms Turner, became the mother 
of two children: James N., the subject of this 
sketch; and Mary, who is no longer living. 

James N. Turner was educated in the public 
schools of his native town. At the age of 
seventeen he began to learn the ship-carpen- 
ter's trade, and served an apprenticeship of 
three years with J. T. Foster, a shiji-builder 
in Medford, Mass. He subsequently followed 
that trade for about twenty years. A short 
time previous to his father's death he returned 
to the old homestead in Scituate, and has 
since carried on the farm. He owns some 
forty acres of fertile land, from the cultivation 
of which he derives a good income. On May 
'7. '"''59' Mr. Turner married Lizzie W. 
Cottle, a native of Martha's Vineyard, and 
daughter of Charles and Mary (Norton) Cottle, 
also natives of tiiat island. Mr. and Mrs. 
Turner have had six chiklren, four of whom 
are living, namely: Nathaniel, a civil 
engineer, and engineer-in-chief of the 
Monterey & Mexican Gulf Railroad in Mex- 
ico; Charles C, a contractor and builder of 
Canton, Mass. ; James VV. and George F., 
who are residing at home. Tiie deceased are: 
Frederick F. and Mary li. 

Mr. Turner is a Republican in politics. 
He is a thrifty and industrious farmer, a man 
of high moral character, and one of Scituate's 
most esteemed citizens. 




LRRHk;1-: II. CHANDLFR, a member 
of the Hoard of Selectmen of Duxbury, 
Mass., was born in this town, June 
17, 1842, son of Klbridge and Martha (Chand- 
ler) Chandler. The Chandler family of Dux- 
bury was founded in America by Edmund 
Chandler, an ICnglishman, who settled in Dux- 
bury about 1633. His descendants have con- 
tinued to reside here, and are traced in the 
line we are now considering, as follows: Jo- 
seph, first, son of Edmund, the original set- 
tler, through Joseph, second, I'hilip, and 
Perez, to Wadsworth, I'llbridge H. Chandler's 
grandfather. Wadsworth Chandler was a life- 
long resident of Duxbury, but some of his 
brothers settled elsewhere. Two of them, 
Seth and Benjamin Chandler, i)oth of whom 
were doctors, represented the district of Maine 
in the General Court of Massachusetts, before 
that State was set off from this Common- 
wealth. 

El bridge Chandler, son of Wadsworth, was 
born in Duxbury, October 15, i.Sio. He at- 
tended the town schools until he was sixteen 
years old; and he then engaged in farming, 
which has been his principal occupation 
through life. Settling upon the farm where 
he now resides, he tilled the soil successfully 
during the rest of his active period, and, aside 
from his legitimate calling, he became widely 
known for his ability and activity in local 
public affairs. For thirteen years he was a 
member of the Board of Selectmen, of which 
he served as Chairman for a considerable 
length of time. He held other town offices, 
and in 1855 he represented this town in the 
legislature. In politics he was originally a 
Whig, but has acted with the Republican 
party since its formation, ami for many years 
was identified with all measures for public 
improvement in this town. He is now in his 
eighty - seventh year. His wife, Martha 



388 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Chandler, reared two children, namely: El- 
bridge H., the subject of this sketch; and 
Horace, who is no longer living. 

Elbridge H. Chandler began his education 



in the common schools, and completed his/ y I/John Delano at the age' of seventy-eight 

Academy. ■ years is a hale and vigorous man. He has 



course of study at the Duxbury Academy 
He taught school for a short time, and then 
learned the bricklayer's trade, which he fol- 
lowed for a number of years. He was one of 
the contractors engaged in building the Cord- 
age Company's plant in Plymouth. In 1872 
his health failed, causing him to relinquish 
his business, and since that time he has re- 
sided at the homestead farm. In politics he 
is a Republican. He is now serving his sec- 
ond year as a member of the Board of Select- 
men, has been a member of the School Com- 
mittee for several years, and is also a Justice 
of the Peace. 

Mr. Chandler married Sylvia ]^. Atwell, 
daughter of Samuel Atwell, late of Duxbury. 
They have three children, namely: Martha B., 
wife of Chester , A. Baker, of Kingston; 
Henry W., a member of the Whitman Grain 
and Coal Company, of Whitman, Mass.; and 
Helen B. 

As an honorable and straightforward busi- 
ness man Mr. Chandler has gained the confi- 
dence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen, who, 
in testimony of their faith in his ability, have 
elected liim Treasurer and a Trustee of the 
Duxbury P'ree Library, and a Trustee of the 
Partridge Academy Fund. He is a member 
and Past Grand of Mattakesett Lodge, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. 



Delano, and doulJthrss- a descendant of Philip 
De La Noye, who came to Plymouth in the 
"F'ortune" in 1623, and was the founder of 
the Delano family in New plngland. 



-t 

-OHN W. DELANO, who for many 
years has been closely associated with 
the leading interests of Marion, Plym- 
outh County, was born i 1 this town at Upper 
Village, April 16, 1852. He is a son of John 



years is a naie and vigorous man. nc nas 
followed the trade of ship-l|iuilder the larger 
portion of his long and useful life, although 
during the war he served as Quartermaster 
eighteen months, being Icjcated at Charles- 
town, Mass. ; and he was for a time employed 
as constructor of the Pacific Guano Company, 
near Beaufort, S. C. His wife7-'wlTOse_Jimii.LeiL__ 
fiinie was Myra'l^eifsoiif^was a native-of Ncw- 
buigh, N.Y. She bore him seven children, 
namely: William H. C, now a manufacturer^^ 
resi<ling- in Brook lyii,-J'>tT-Y,_;IJzzie R^-J-obfl— 
_W-, the subject of tTiis brief biograph-iea^— 

■sketdrt— -George M., a farmer -ixi Maiiow-f 

R- obe it T., a'Tientist at Wareham, this county; 
Adolphus, who was accidentally drowned about 
thirty years ago; and Myra, who- died h\ 
~TTrfa+i-Gy. , 

Jnhn W. Delano passed his boyhood days in 
Marion, and after leaving the district school 
attended the Rochester Academy for a time. 
At the age of fifteen years he made his way to 
Boston, where he shipped as a deck hand on 
board a vessel bound for the British provinces. 
The following year he was a seaman on a 
whaling vessel, and the next two sunmiers was 
engaged in coasting. He then spent three 
years as an apprentice in a carpenter's shop in 
Boston, after which he worked for Norcross 
Brothers, of Worcester, Mass., two years. In 
1876, giving up carpentering, Mr. Delano 
entered the employ of Captain A. S. Gurney, 
flour, grain, and coal mercliant in Wareham, 
but continued his residence in Marion. 

In 1887 Mr. Delano was elected Represen- 
tative to the State legislature, in which he 
served two consecutive years. In 1890 he 




JOHN W. DELANO. 



1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



39' 



was appointed Deputy Fish Commissioner, 
anil the chitics of tiiis office have since required 
his entire time, he being acting su[)crinten- 
dent of the Hatching Department of the Mas- 
sachusetts Fish and Game Commission. He 
taives an active part in the management of local 
affairs, and is at the present time serving his 
second term as Selectman of Marion. \n poli- 
tics he is a stanch Democrat, and his election 
to prominent offices in this Republican strong- 
hold is a gratifying testimonial to his popu- 
larity with all parties. Mr. Delano is a mem- 
ber of Pythagorean Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Marion. 

Mr. Delano was married November 26, 
1875, to Miss ]{stella I.. Gurney, who is a 
daughter of Captain A. S. Gurney, of Marion, 
and was born and reared in this town. Mr. 
and Mrs. Delano have three children — Walter 
S., Estelle R., and I'Jmira B., all living at 
home. 




"ON. CHARLKS GIDEON DAVIS, 
Judge of the Third District Court of 
^ * Plymouth, is one of the few surviv- 

ing leaders of the Abolition movement. He 
was born May 30, 1820, in Plymouth, son of 
William and Joanna (White) Davis. His 
paternal grandfather, Thomas Davis, was a 
son of Thomas and Catherine (Wendell) 
Davis. The wife of Thomas Davis, Sr., be- 
longed to the Albany, N.Y., family of Wen- 
dells," to which Wendell Phillips and Oliver 
Wendell Holmes were related. The mother 
of Judge Davis was of the seventh generation 
from Peregrine White, who was born on the 
" .M.U'fiower." By the death of her husband in 
1 824, she was left a widow with five children. 
All the children, except Sarah, who died in 
childhood, reached maturity. The Hon. Will- 
iam T. Davis, the younger brother of Judge 
Davis, has also won a distinguished name. 



Charles Gideon Davis was sent to a private 
school in Hingham when ten years of age. 
After finishing his studies there he attended 
the Plymouth High School until the spring of 
1836. Then he went to Uridgcwater, and 
completed his preparation for college. He was 
graduated from Harvard University in the 
class of 1840, and throughout the following 
year studied law in the office of the Hon. 
Jacob H. Loud, of Plymouth. He further 
qualifieil himself for tiie legal profession by a 
year's attendance in the Dane Law School of 
Harvard, and a year's work in the office of 
Hubbard & Watts, of Hoston, after which, in 
August, 1843, he was admitted to the bar. 
Thereupon he opened an office in Hoston with 
William H. Whitman as partner. Subse- 
quently he was associated with George P. 
Sanger and .Seth Webb. In 1S51 he was 
obliged to abandon the Hoston office on 
account of bronchial trouble. At that time 
he purchased a farm on the outskirts of Plym- 
outh, and in the following year built on the 
property the house in which he still lives. 
He did not retire from practice altogether on 
that occasion, as he continued to do a little 
office work. Almost as soon as Judge Davis 
was qualified to exercise tiie right of suffrage, 
he joined in the anti-slavery movement. He 
was associated with John A. Andrew, the war 
governor of Massachusetts, F. W. Hird, and 
others, in opposing the re-election of Robert 
C. Winthrop to Congress in 1846, and he 
offered in Faneuil Hall the resolution which 
first nominated Charles Sumner for that honor. 
He attended the National Wiiig Convention 
of 1848, lield in I'iiiladelphia, which nomi- 
nated General Zachary Taylor for President : 
and two weeks later he was present at the 
"Barn-burners" " Convention in Utica, N.V., 
which nominated Martin Van Huren as the 
Presidential candidate of the I'ree Soil 



392 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



party. Judge Davis subsequently joined the 
ranks of tlie Free Soilers. During all this 
time he was an ardent Abolitionist, and in 
185 1 he was tried before a United States 
Commissioner for assisting in the rescue of 
the negro, Shadrach, claimed as a fugitive 
slave. He was a delegate to the Massachu- 
setts Constitutional Convention, held in 1853; 
and in 1854 and 1S55 he was Chairman of the 
Republican State Committee. In 1856 he 
was one of the four Massachusetts members of 
the convention at Pittsburg that organized the 
Republican party; and in June of the same 
year he was a delegate to the national conven- 
tion which nominated Fremont for President. 
As a member of the State legislature in 1862, 
he was House Chairman of the Committee on 
Agriculture. He was appointed Assessor of 
Internal Revenue under Lincoln, and subse- 
quently held that office until April, 1869. 
Shortly after that date he sailed with his 
family for Europe, and remained abroad until 
August, 1870. His next appearance in public 
affairs was made at the mass convention held 
in Cincinnati, which nominated Horace 
Greeley for the Presidency. At that time he 
became associated with the Democratic party, 
and he has since voted with the Democratic 
party, has been a Democratic candidate for 
Congress, and has served on the Democratic 
State Committee. He has been a member of 
the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture for 
twenty-three years, and the President of the 
Plymouth County Agricultural Society for 
twenty years. Upon the incorporation of the 
Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1862, 
he was appointed a Trustee of the institution 
by the legislature, and subsequently served as 
such until 1887. He was a Trustee of the 
Samoset House from 1850 to 1869. He has 
been a Trustee of the Pilgrim Society since 
1S53, and was elected an Overseer of Harvard 



in 1859. While a student at Harvard he be- 
came a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. He 
has aided materially in the development of 
Plymouth by erecting many business blocks 
and private residences, and setting out over 
four hundred elms. In 1874 he was appointed 
Judge of the Third District Court of Plym- 
outh, over which he has now presided for 
twenty-two years. (For the facts here stated 
the publishers are indebted to the work en- 
titled "One of a Thousand.") 

Judge Davis was married in Plymouth, No- 
vember 19, 1845, to Hannah S. , daughter of 
Colonel John B. and Mary Howland (Le 
Baron) Thomas. He has been the father of 
four children. Of these there are living: 
Joanna White, now the wife of Richard H. 
Morgan, of New Bedford; and Charles S., a 
resident of Plymouth, and a promising lawyer 
in that town. 



AMES F. HAMMOND, of Mattapoi- 
sett, has long been identified with the 
town government, acting in different 
official capacities. He was born in this town, 
February 17, 1852, a son of William and Jane 
(Snow) Hammond. His father was engaged 
in the manufacture of soap at one time, in 
which line he did quite an extensive business. 
He also was one of the first to engage in the 
culture of cranberries in this part of the State. 
James F. Hammond was educated in the 
public schools of his native town. When 
twenty-one years old he began to learn the 
cabinet-maker's trade, and was employed for 
six years in New I3edford, part of the time as 
foreman in a novelty manufactory. He then 
returned to Mattapoisett, where he has since 
been chiefly engaged in cranberry culture. 
He is a man of ability and good judgment 
and has been successful in life. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



393 



Mr. Hammnml was married in 1871 to Miss 
Rebecca Cowcn, daughter of Abner and Lydia 
Cowen, of Mattapoisett. He lias one child, 
William 11. In ])olitics he is a Republican; 
antl he votes always for the measures that are, 
in his judgment, calculated to i^romote the 
best interests of the town. He has served as 
Selectman of Mattapoisett three years, as 
Assessor and as Overseer of the Poor ; and 
he has been Postmaster of l-'ast Mattapoisett 
five years. He is prominent as an Odd 
I'"ellow; and he is also one of the Charter 
members of the Mattapoisett Grange,No. 215, 
Patrons of Husbandry, in which he at present 
holds the office- of Treasurer. 



T^APTAIX BKNJAMIN F. GH^BS, 
I Sp Chairman of the Hoard of Selectmen 

^^ ^ of Wareham, Mass., and port war- 
ilen of Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound, 
was born at sea. May 28, 1820. His father, 
Stejihen (libbs, was a seafaring man, and his 
mother, whose maiden name was Louisa I'ear- 
ing, sometimes accompanied her husband on 
a voyage. When Benjamin I-". was two 
months old the couple settled in Wareham, 
Mass., Stephen Gibbs then retiring from the 
sea, purchasing a homestead in this town. 
Here he and his wife died and are buried. 
'I'hey had three children: Charles Gibbs, 
M.I)., who was lost when the steamship "Cen- 
tral ^America" went down in 1857; a child 
who tlied in infancy; and Benjamin I-"., the 
special subject of the present sketch. 

Benjamin 1'". Gibbs acquired a fair educa- 
tion in the public schools of Wareham. When 
he was sixteen years of age he took to his 
native element, the sea, shipping on a whaling 
vessel from New Bedford, which made a com- 
paratively short voyage. On his second trip 
he sailed as a common seaman an^l was gone 



two years, cruising in the South Atlantic 
Ocean. He ne.xt went as boat steerer on a 
whaling expedition to the Indian Ocean, and 
was out from the home i)ort two years. By 
this time he was thoroughly versed in naviga- 
tion, and when he sailed again it was as thiril 
mate of a whaler bound lor the Indian and 
Pacific Oceans. He rose rapidly, making his 
ne.xt voyage as second mate, and the ne.xt on 
a whaling voyage to the coasts of New Zealand 
and California as mate. 

In 1847 he sailed for the first time as Cap- 
tain, and for fourteen years he voyaged back 
and forth between New Bedford and the whal- 
ing grounds, each time as master of a vessel. 
He sailed in the Okhotsk Sea and the Arctic 
Ocean, also in the waters of Japan before the 
treaty was made with that country; and he 
likewise cruised along the coast of California 
toward the northern seas, visiting nearly every 
quarter of the globe, passing through the ex- 
treme heat of the torrid belts antl running the 
gauntlet of huge icebergs in the polar regions. 
His wife accompanied him on two voyages to 
the Arctic Ocean. He was successful and 
fortimate, bringing home generous cargoes of 
whale oil, and meeting with few mishaps; and, 
as he purchased shares in the vessels which he 
sailed, he realized a comfortable income. In 
1861 he retired from the sea, settling on the 
farm which had been his father's. Captain 
Gibbs at one time owned all the land where 
Onset is now. His property at present covers 
two hundred acres; and his farm, on which he 
has made all the imiirovements, is a \ory val- 
uable one. 

In politics Captain Gibbs is a Republican. 
He represented Wareham in the State legis- 
lature in 1862 and 1S63. He .served as Se- 
lectman from 1862 to 1865, and was re-elected 
in 1869, since which date he has remained 
continuously in office, and has been Chairman 



394 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the board sixteen years. He has served as 
Assessor and Overseer of the Poor, and has 
been in office as Justice of the Peace fifteen 
years. He is well known throughout Plym- 
outh County, and has the respect of all. 




YRON L. KEITH, Vice-President 
and Superintendent of the George 
I{. Keith Company shoe fac- 
tory of Brockton, Mass., was born in this city, 
March 26, 1S59, son of Franklin and Betsy 
(Bailey) Keith. 

The following account of the family ances- 
try we glean from the "Keith Memorial," pre- 
pared and published by the Hon. Ziba Cary 
Keith in 1889. Robert Keith is mentioned 
in Brown's "Peerage" as a chieftain among 
the Catti, from which the name Keith is said 
to be derived. In 1006 a.d., at the battle of 
Panbridge, Robert slew Comus, the Danish 
general, for which service King Malcolm drew 
red strokes or pales on his shield, which was 
the origin of their armorial bearings. In 
loio he was made hereditary Mareschal of 
Scotland, and presented with a barony and 
the Island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth. 
Robert's descendant, Sir William Keith, mar- 
ried a daughter of the Earl of Crawford, and 
they had a son, also named William, who was 
created Earl Mareschal previous to 1458. 
The title descended lineally to William, third 
Earl, who was the father of two sons — Robert 
and William, the former of whom was slain at 
the battle of Flodden Hill. William was the 
father of a son, William, the fourth Earl, 
whose grandson, George, the fifth Earl, was 
the founder of Mareschal College in Aberdeen. 
He married Lord Hume's daughter. George, 
the tenth PZarl, was a Colonel in Queen 
Anne's Guards. His brother James was a 
Field Marshal in the service of Peter the 



Great of Russia, and later served with the 
same rank in the Prussian Army, being killed 
at the battle of Ilochkirch with the Austrians 
in 1758. The king of Prussia erected a mon- 
ument to his memory. 

The Rev. James Keith, the founder of the 
family in America, was born in Aberdeen, 
Scotland, in 1644, and came to this country in 
1662. He was introduced to the church in 
Bridgewater, Mass., by Increase Mather, D.D., 
and settled over that parish on February 18, 
1664. He was twice married. By his first 
wife, with whom he was united on May 3, 
1668, Susanna, daughter of Deacon Samuel 
Edson, he had nine children; namely, James, 
Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, John, Josiah, Mar- 
garet, Mary, and Susanna. Mrs. Susanna 
Keith died October 16, 1705, at the age of 
sixty-five years. Mr. Keith's second wife 
was Mary, widow of Thomas Williams, of 
Taunton, Mass. The Rev. James Keith died 
July 2^, 1719- The house he occupied in 
Bridgewater is still standing. 

Timothy, the fourth son of the Rev. James 
Keith, was born in 1683. He married Han- 
nah, daughter of Deacon Edward Forbes, and 
they had four children — Timothy, Abiah, 
Nathan, and Hannah. The father died No- 
vember 3, 1767. Timothy, second, who died 
in 1740, at the age of twenty-nine years, mar- 
ried Bethiah, daughter of William Ames, on 
June 2, 1737, and their two children were 
Levi and Timothy. Levi, born August 25, 
1738, married Jemima, daughter of Mark Per- 
kins, on November 8, 1759. Their children 
were: Bethiah, Timothy, Reuben, Benjamin, 
Jemima, Jemima, second, Molly, Levi, Molly, 
second, and Anna. Levi Keith owned a tan- 
nery at the corner of Montello and Garfield 
Streets. He was also a shoe manufacturer, 
being the pioneer of that industry here. His 
residence was on the corner of Maine and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



395 



Plain Streets, where the George E. Keith 
mansion now stands. Levi Keith accumulated 
considerable property, and was an influential 
citizen. He died in 1.S13. 

Henjamin Keith, tliird son of Levi, owned 
an extensive tract of land, on ALain Street, and 
engaged piincipall)' in farming, though he 
also made shoes, and operated his father's 
tannery. On December 18, 1788, he married 
ALartha, daughter of Simeon Gary, by which 
alliance there were seven children; namely, 
Ziba, Arza, Hela, Charles, Pcdly, Jason, and 
lienjamin. Mr. Henjamin Keith died Sep- 
tember g, 1814. His wife lived until June 
10, 1852, dying at the age of eighty-six 
years. 

Ziba Keith, son of Henjamin and Martha 
(Gary) Keith, was born November 10, 1/89, 
at the old homestead on Main Street. In 
early life he was a shoemaker, carrying on the 
business in the old Red Shop of his ancestors, 
where he also instructed his sons in the trade. 
On May 29, 18 16, he was commissioned by 
Governor Brooks as Ensign in a company of 
the Third Regiment of Infantry; and on De- 
cember 5, 1S22, he was promoted to Captain, 
which title he retained through life. Just 
and upright in all his dealings, and a kind 
neighbor, he was much respected. 

On November 25, 1813, Captain Ziba Keith 
married Sally Cary, daughter of Jonathan 
Cary, by which union there were nine chil- 
dren: Henjamin; I-"ranklin; Martha C. ; 
Martin, who died in infancy; Martin L. ; 
Nancy, who died in early life; David and 
Jonathan, twins, the former of whom died in 
infancy; and Levi W. Mrs. Sally C. Keith 
died September 26, 1832. On March 13, 
1834, Captain Keith married Holly, daughter 
of Daniel Noyes, of Abington. Hy his sec- 
ond marriage there were three sons — Daniel 
N., Kdwin, and Ziba Cary. The father died 



September 28, 1862, and the mother, June 14, 
1882. 

Franklin, the second son of Ziba Keith, 
was born January 28, 18 16. After acquiring 
a common-school education, he engaged in 
the shoe business witii his brother, Martin L. 
During the Civil War they dissolved partner- 
shi]3, Mr. Franklin Keith carrying on the 
business alone until within a few years of his 
death, which occurred A])ril 7, 1877, at the 
age of sixty-one years. He served as Select- 
man, and in other ofifices. On October 8, 
1840, he married Betsy Bailey, of Sidney, 
Me., by which union there are six children: 
the Rev. A. F. Keith, who is now located in 
California; Helen Maria; l""lavel B. ; George 
E. ; D. Cary; and Myron L., the subject of 
this biography. Mr. I'ranklin Keith was a 
member of the South Congregational Church, 
of which he officiated as Collector and Treas- 
urer, and as a member of the Parish Commit- 
tee. E.xemplary in his walk and conversation, 
he was highly respected. He was the head of 
a family which has figured conspicuously in 
the business history of Campello, and was the 
progenitor of sons whose careers have been 
marked in the mercantile world, and in vari- 
ous spheres of social and moral activity. 

Myron L. Keith, after completing his edu- 
cation in the Brockton schools, served as book- 
keeper in the shoe factory of his brother, 
Flavel H., with whom he remained until 
March, 1883. He then entered the employ of 
his brother, George E., as superintendent of 
his large shoe factory. In January, 1897, the 
business of George E. Keith was formed into 
a corporation, under the laws of Massachu- 
setts, with a capital of two hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, called the George E. Keith 
Company. Myron L. became one of the 
stockholders, and was elected Vice-President 
and a Director of the same. Their shoe 






396 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



factory, which is located at Campello, near 
the railroad station, is the largest in the city, 
and employs some seven hundred hands. 

On January 6, 1886, he was married to L. 
Ada, daughter of Henry Cummings, of Boston, 
by which alliance there has been a daughter, 
Edith, born April 23, 1889, who died in in- 
fancy. In 18S5 Mr. Keith built a residence 
on Plain Street near Main, where he still re- 
sides. 

In politics Mr. Keith affiliates with the 
Republican party, and for a number of years 
was clerk of the Republican City Committee 
of Brockton. Officially, he is a Director in 
the Boot and Shoe Sole-Laying Company of 
Boston, and a Trustee in the Brockton City 
Hospital. Fraternally, Mr. Keith is a Mason, 
and at the present time he is Senior Warden 
of St. George Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of 
Campello; a member of Satucket Royal Arch 
Chapter; Organist of Brockton Council, Royal 
and Select Masters; and Senior Warden of 
Bay State Commandery, Knights Templars, 
all of Brockton. In religious belief he is a 
Congregational ist, being a member of the 
South Church and Parish. In the parish he 
has officiated as clerk for the last twelve 
years. 



(^AMES A. VAUGHN, Postmaster and 
Town Treasurer of Carver, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born on the Vaughn 
homestead in this town, April 26, 1849. He 
is a son of Thomas and Mercy Carver (Sher- 
man) Vaughn, both natives of Carver. His 
parents had nine children, of whom si.x are 
living; namely, Theodosia B., Christiana C, 
Mercy J., James A., Edwin A., and Theodore 
T. Theodosia B. Vaughn married Augustus 
L. Thomas, and resides in Middleboro, Mass. ; 
Mercy C. became the wife of Andrew F. 
Barrows, who died December 17, 1880; Edwin 



A. Vaughn is a resident of Whitman. The 
homestead came into possession of Thomas 
Vaughn, father of the subject of this sketch, 
in 1837. 

James A. Vaughn was reared on the home 
farm, obtaining his early education in the 
public schools. Though he went to work 
when quite young, he did not consider his ed- 
ucation finished, but took up special studies 
when twenty-two years of age, attending a 
business college in Boston. He began to 
support himself when seventeen years of age, 
selling nursery stock for Mr. Watson, of 
Plymouth, in whose employ he remained three 
years; and, after finishing his commercial 
course of study at Boston, he went into the 
nursery business himself on the homestead, 
where he remained until 1883. In that year 
he removed to his present location, purchasing 
twenty-five acres of land; and his business 
prospered to such an extent that a few years 
later he bought one hundred acres more adjoin- 
ing his first purchase. His land includes some 
fine meadows; and, in addition to his nursery 
business, he is extensively engaged in cran- 
berry culture, and also does some lumbering 
in a small way. As a nurseryman he controls 
an extensive trade, selling besides well-started 
trees and plants, seeds of all kinds. Thrifty 
and enterprising, he has developed an exten- 
sive business, where another man would be 
likely to meet with failure, and has won from 
his fellow-men the respect always given to 
merited success. 

Mr. Vaughn was married October 3, 1883, to 
Miss Desire A. Osborn, daughter of Captain 
James C. and Achsa Anna Osborn, of Edgar- 
town, Mass. They have one child, an adopted 
son, Henry Herbert Vaughn^''' In p^nfical 
matters Mr. Vaughn is independent, voting 
for the candidate that he considers best quali- 
fied to serve the interests of the people. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



397 



was chosen Town Treasurer in 1893, to fill 
the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. 
(rrlffiths, and proved so efficient that lie has 
■ecn retained in office ever since; and he fias 
' oi>n Postmaster of Carver i^mee March 10, 
: Sqo. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn arc members 
ol the Baptist church, and he is very active 
in church wori<, and has served as clerk and 
as Deacon. He is a representative citizen of 
Carver, active in business, political, and re- 
iitrious affairs. 




KOKGK S. RANDALL, of Marsh- 
al field Hills, whose violin-case factory 
at Sea V'iew is one of the important 
industrial plants of this locality, has long been 
interested in the manufacture of musical in- 
struments; and before the [liano had sup- 
planted the cabinet organ in the homes of the 
people, he made many organs for the music 
trade. He was born in W'inthrnp, Me., No- 
vember II, 1833, a son of IVnuel and lunily 
(Bakery Randall. 

I'enucl Randall was a son of Asa Randall, 
one of the pioneer settlers in the State of 
Maine. It is said that Asa Randall's wife, 
Mr. George S. Randall's grandmother, was 
taken by the Indians when ten years old, dur- 
ing one of their raids on the white settle- 
ments, when they carried into captivity all 
whom they did not butcher. She was held by 
them until twenty-one years of age, and then, 
tomahawking seven of the .savages while they 
were asleep, she made her escape, and found 
her way through the wilderness to a white 
settlement I'enuel Randall was a native of 
the I'inO Tree State. A natural mechanic, he 
earned a livelihood by expert and skilful man- 
ual labor, his fine workmanship insuring him 
constant employment. He was also a music 
teacher of note. He ilied in 1847, during the 



Mexican War. Mrs. Randall, after her hus- 
band's death, married a Mr. Adams, and is 
still living. 

George S. Randall in his boyhood attended 
the common schools of Winthrop, Me., and 
when he was seven years old he also began to 
work at .shoemaking. Thrown on his own re- 
sources at the age of fourteen by the death of 
his father, at the age of seventeen he was 
a skilled workman in the "gentle craft of 
leather." At nineteen he began to learn the 
trade of cabinet and chair making, which he 
followed for a number of years. In Ajiril, 
1856, he went to Ansonia, Conn., to learn to 
tune organs; and the following year his em- 
ployer, Mr. I""isk, took him into partnership, 
the firm becoming l-'isk & Randall. They 
engaged in the manufacture of organs and 
melodeons for six years at Woodbridge, 
Conn., and then removed to New Haven, 
where they built a large factory. A few 
years later Mr. Ivandall disposed of his busi- 
ness in New Haven to the Schoeninger 
Organ and Melodeon Company, and removed 
to Providence, R.I. There was formed the 
firm of Baker & Randall, cabinet organ manu- 
facturers, with which he was connected about 
four years. 

In 1S72 he removed to Marshfield, and with 
his brother, William W. Randall, under the 
firm name of Randall Brothers, established a 
cabinet organ manufactory. In 1884 the 
plant was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Randall's 
brother retired from the business, Mr. Randall 
himself erecting the Sea View factory, of 
which he is sole proprietor. Here he carries 
on a flourishing business, and employs a 
number of hands, in the bu.sy season working 
over time. Mr. Randall is considered one of 
the finest mechanics in the State, whether in 
wood, iron, or steel, but particularly excelling 
in wood-work. He has been verv successful 



398 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



as a business man, perseveringly working his 
way, and surmounting all difficulties. 

He was married September 8, 1856, to 
Marion A., daughter of Joel and Caroline 
(Cook) Wilkinson, of Connecticut, her native 
State. Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson died some 
years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Randall have one of 
the pleasantest homes in the village of Marsh- 
field Hills, where pretty residences are the 
rule. Mr. Randall votes the Republican 
ticket. He is a public-spirited citizen, es- 
pecially interested in the cause of education, 
and is a zealous advocate of good schools. 




PARKER WELCH, a retired busi- 
ness man and prominent farmer of 
Scituate, Mass., was born in this 
town, November 5, 1833, son of Michael and 
Sarah (Brown) Welch. His father was a na- 
tive of Ireland, and his mother a descendant 
of an old New England family. 

Michael Welch emigrated to America about 
the year 1815. He landed at St. John's, 
Newfoundland, where he was engaged in fish- 
ing for one summer, and he subsequently 
worked for a short time in the coal mines of 
Nova Scotia. From the latter province he 
came to the United States, and for four years 
was employed at the United States Marine 
Hospital in Chelsea, Mass., then under the 
charge of Colonel Charles Turner. About the 
year 1830 he settled in South Scituate, now 
Norwell, where he purchased a small farm ; 
and, after residing there for several years, he 
bought the old Turner farm in Scituate, 
where his son, E. P. Welch, now resides. 
Michael Welch was an industrious farmer, and 
an honorable, upright citizen. In the latter 
part of his life he supported the Republican 
party in politics. He lived to reach his nine- 
tieth year, and died in 1892. His wife. 



Sarah Brown, who was a native of Scituate, 
died in 1884. She was of patriotic and mili- 
tary stock. Her great-grandfather and grand- 
father lost their lives while fighting in the 
Revolutionary struggle for American indepen- 
dence; and her father was a soldier in the 
War of 1812. Of her children there are two 
survivors, namely: E. Parker, the subject of 
this sketch; and Sarah E., who resides in 
Bridgewater, Mass. 

E. Parker Welch was but a child when his 
parents removed to the farm which he now 
owns, and he was here reared to manhood. 
After acquiring his education in the schools 
of Scituate he worked at farming. He later 
engaged in trade, and was for a number of 
years senior member of the firm of E. P. 
Welch & Son, dealers in lumber, furniture, 
and agricultural tools. In 1891 he retired 
from the business, which is now conducted by 
his son, George F. , and has since devoted his 
attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits. 
The farm of one hundred and fifty-eight acres 
which he occupies is one of the historical es- 
tates in Scituate. It is a part of a grant given 
to a colony of settlers from Kent, England, 
and consists of two allotments. The part on 
which the residence now stands was allotted 
in 1628 to Humphrey Turner, and upon the 
other portion of the property one William 
Gilson erected a wind-mill, which was the first 
of its kind in Scituate. 

In 1858 Mr. Welch married Mary L. 
Collier, a native of Scituate. Her father. 
Captain Peleg Collier, who was a ship-master, 
was lost at sea. Mrs. Welch died in 1895, 
leaving si.\ children, as follows: Charles P.; 
George F. ; William H.; Mary E. , wife of 
George Walbach : Minnie L. ; and Edith, 
wife of Ansel Sevan. 

Mr. Welch is an earnest advocate of tem- 
perance and total abstinence, in practice sets 



I 



'*>«MJ**n- 




E. PARKER WELCH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



401 



a good example, having never used intoxicat- 
ing liquors or tobacco. For a number of 
years he has been associated with the Massa- 
chusetts Humane Society, as agent of several 
stations along the coast, ami he takes a great 
interest in this work. He attends the Metho- 
dist I'3piscopal church, and in politics he acts 
with the Republican party. 



/^TkORGI". G. \\AI.H.\C1I, of .Scituate, 
V p I who lias a beautiful residence at 
First Cliff, is well known as a mem- 
ber of the legal fraternity of Hoston. A son 
of Captain Louis A. B. and Penelope R. 
(Williams) Walbach, he was born in I'ikes- 
ville, Md., September 29, 1852. 

His grandfather, lirevet Brigadier-General 
John H. Walbach, was an Alsatian, born in 
1766. On coming to this country he joined 
the regular army, and in 1799 was commis- 
sioned IJeutenant of Cavalry. During the 
War of 1812 he was in action at various 
places, notably Chrystler's farm; and he was 
in command of the forces at Portsmouth, 
N.H., during and after that war. It was he 
who built the Walbach Tower in Portsmouth. 
He was promoted through the various grades 
of military rank, retaining his connection with 
the army up to the time of his death in 1856. 

Louis A. 15. Walbach was born in Ports- 
mouth, N.H. He was graduated from the 
military academy at West Point, and was 
commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 
l"'ourth United States Artillery, being after- 
ward commissioned First Lieutenant of Artil- 
lery and Captain of Ordnance. He saw much 
active service, fighting in the Seminole War 
in Florida, and in the Mexican War. His 
death occurred in June, 1853. Captain Wal- 
bach's wife, a native of Boston, was a daugh- 
ter of Samuel K. and Elizabeth Winslow 



(Whitman) Williams. Samuel K. Williams 
was born in Taunton, Mass., in November, 
1785, was educated for the bar, and began the 
practice of law in Boston in 1804. He was a 
resident of that city until his death in Novem- 
ber, 1874. Mrs. Williams was born in Pem- 
broke, Mass. 

George G. Walbach was reared in the home 
of his maternal grandfather, Samuel K. Will- 
aims, in Boston. He attended the Boston 
public schools, being in the primary school 
two years, in the Brimmer School three years, 
and in the Latin School six years, and, enter- 
ing Harvard University in 1869, was gradu- 
ated in 1873, having taken the regular course. 
He studied law with Chandler, Ware & Hud- 
son, of Boston, and subsequently at the 
Boston Law .School, graduating in 1879. Ad- 
mitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1880, he 
began to practise in Boston in that year. Mr. 
Walbach had from boyhood been accustomed 
to visit Scituate in the summer time, and in 
1 888 he became a permanent resident, moving 
into his pleasant dwelling at First Cliff. In 
politics Mr. Walbach is a Republican. He 
was married June 2, 1888, to Mary E., daugh- 
ter of K. Parker W'elch, an extensive farmer 
and iirnminent business man of Scituate. 




GRACE E. BAKER is one of the 
foremost men of Marshfield, a suc- 
cessful contractor and builder, and a 
popular member of society. He was born in 
Du.xbury, Mass., October 27, 1 831, a son of 
Captain Otis and Sally (Sampson) Baker. 

Otis Baker was born in Duxbury, and at- 
tended school in that town until fourteen 
years of age. He began to follow the sea 
when quite young, and sailed for a number of 
years, commanding different vessels sailing 
from Duxbury. During the War of 1S12 he 



402 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was in the United States service. He event- 
ually retired from the sea, and, purchasing a 
farm at Marshfield Neck, devoted the rest of 
his life to the pursuit of agriculture. He 
married Sally, daughter of Oliver Sampson, 
whose father, Anthony Sampson, of Duxbury, 
was a great-grandson of Henry Sampson, one 
of the "Mayflower " Pilgrims. (See "Samp- 
son Genealogy.") In politics Captain Baker 
was a Democrat. Mrs. Sally S. Baker, who 
is a native of Kingston, Mass., and is now in 
her ninety-eighth year, is to-day one of the 
few surviving pensionaries on account of ser- 
vices in the War of i8i2, her late husband's 
claim having been recognized by the govern- 
ment. Four of her children are living: 
Leonard C. ; Horace E. ; Henry A. ; and Ann 
Maria, widow of Charles A. Walker, of 
Marshfield. 

Horace E. Baker was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Marshfield, his parents remov- 
ing to this town when he was about five years 
old. His schooling was limited, being con- 
fined to attendance in the winter season only, 
and ending when he was seventeen years old. 
At that age he began to learn the carpenter's 
trade, at which he served an apprenticeship of 
three years with John Gray, a well-known con- 
tractor and builder of North Bridgewater. He 
was away from home some ten years in all, 
following his trade, and tJicn settled where he 
now resides. In Marshfield he worked for 
some time as a journeyman, finally establish- 
ing himself in business as a contractor and 
builder. He has now been thus engaged for a 
number of years, and has been very successful, 
erecting a great many residences at Brant 
Rock and elsewhere in this vicinity. His 
business is seldom dull, and he keeps a num- 
ber of workmen employed both summer and 
winter. 

Mr. Baker was married in 1845 to Miss 



Julia A. S. Eldridge, a native of Cape Cod. 
Her father, Captain Sylvester D. Eldridge, 
commander of the brig "Gustavus," while sail- 
ing from Smyrna to Boston was lost at sea, 
the brig foundering, and all on board finding 
a watery grave. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have two 
children: Horace E., in Somerville, Mass.; 
and Florence, wife of Joshua Brewster, of 
Whitman, Mass. In politics Mr. Baker is a 
Democrat. He is a member of Tremont 
Lodge, No. 15, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, with headquarters at 515 Tremont 
Street, Boston. He has a wide circle of ac- 
quaintance, and is esteemed by all who know 
him. 




ENERAL SILVANUS LAZELL, 
one of the most active and progres- 
sive citizens of East Bridgewater 
in the early part of the nineteenth century, 
was born May 28, 1753, in what was then the 
East Parish of the old town of Bridgewater, 
Mass., now East Bridgewater, and died here 
October 10, 1827. He was a son of Isaac 
Lazell. Commencing life with few advan- 
tages, by energy and industry he attained to a 
position of prominence in the county, and ac- 
quired a handsome estate. His ideas were far 
in advance of his time, and he engaged in 
many enterprises conducive to the business 
growth and prosperity of the town. He was 
largely influential in the construction of the 
turnpike from New Bedford to Weymouth, 
which connects with the turnpike running 
from Weymouth to Boston. In the State mil- 
itia he held for some time the rank of Briga- 
dier-General, being placed in command of the 
Plymouth County Brigade in iSio. 

General Lazell and Miss Abigail Robinson, 
a native of East Bridgewater, were married in 
1775- They became the parents of three 
daughters, namely : Lucy, who married Ben- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



403 



janiiii Mobart, of Soiitli Abington, Mass., and 
(lied withdiit issue; lictsy, who became Mrs. 
Hartholoniew Brown, of Ivist ]?riclgewater, and 
the mother of five chikircn; and Nabby, who 
was married to Judge Nahum Mitchell (author 
of the "History of the liarly Settlement of 
Hridgewater "), to whom she bore five chil- 
dren, as follows: Harriet, Silvanus Lazell, 
Mary Ovv, l",lizal)cth Gushing, and James 
Henry. 

Harriet Mitchell, born in 1796, married the 
Hon. Nathaniel Morton Davis, of Plymouth, 
Mass., in 1.S17, and passed away in 1847; 
Silvanus Lazell Mitchell, born in 1798, was 
graduated at Harvard College, and in 1820 
wedded Miss Lucia, a daughter of Judge 
Ezekiel Whitman, of Portland, Me. ; Mary 
Orr Mitchell, born in 1801, married in 1827 
David Ames, of Springfield, Mass. ; Elizabeth 
Gushing Mitchell, born in 1807, now de- 
ceased, became the wife of Nathan D. Hyde, a 
resident of Bridgewater; and James Henry 
Mitchell, born in 1812, and deceased in 1871, 
prepared for Harvard Gollege at Exeter Acad- 
emy, and married in 1833 Miss Harriet 
Lavinia, a daughter of John and Lavinia 
(Hathaway) Angier, of Belfast, Me. The 
Angier family was an old one, settling origi- 
nally in East Bridgewater. Mr. and Mrs. 
James Henry Mitchell had seven children; 
namely, Henry Hedge, (]race Webster, Helen 
Angier, Sophia Ripley, Jennet Orr, William 
Davis, and Lavinia Hathaway. 

Henry Hedge Mitchell, who was born in 
1839, received his education abroad. He 
served in the Givil War as assistant surgeon, 
and later as Surgeon in Massachusetts regi- 
ments, and also in regiments of colored 
troops. In 1864 he married Miss Mary T. 
Whitehurst, of Norfolk, Va. ; and at his de- 
cease in 1S87 he left a widow and two daugh- 
ters — Maud Angier and Harriet Lavinia. 



The former became the wife of Gharles Gas- 
kins, of Philadelphia, and is the mother of two 
children — Grace Ghandler and Oliver Bruce. 

Grace Webster Mitchell in 1865 was united 
in marriage with Horace Parker Ghandler, 
son of the Hon. Peleg W. and Martha (Cleve- 
land) Ghandler, of Boston, Mass. They have 
six children — Cleveland Angier, Grace, 
Whitman Mitchell, Ellen, James Mitchell, 
and Peleg Whitman. Helen Angier .Mitchell 
married in 1822 Thomas 15. Hedge, a son of 
Thomas and T^ydia Hedge, of Plymouth, 
Mass., but in the same year Mr. Hedge passed 
away. Sophia Ripley Mitchell in 1S75 be- 
came the wife of Frederick Westwood, of 
England, to whom she bore one child, a son, 
Arthur by name, who died in 1886. 

Jennet Orr Mitchell in 1872 married 
Charles White Gopeland, a son of Pardon and 
Alice (Ames) Gopeland, of West Bridge- 
water. Her husband departed this life in 
1893. Mrs. Jennet O. M. Gopeland, now a 
widow, has one daughter, Alice Ames bj' 
name, who in 1894 became the wife of James 
Sumner Draper, a son of Thomas B. and Sarah 
(Turner) Draper, of Canton, Mass., and is 
the mother of a daughter, Ruth Sumner. 
William Davis Mitchell died in 1870, at East 
Bridgewater. Lavinia Hathaway Mitchell in 
1880 became the wife of Theodore Winthrop 
Stedman, a son of Daniel and Miriam Sted- 
man, of Boston, Mass. At his decease in 
1885 Mr. Theodore W. Stedman was survived 
by a widow and two children; namely, Helen 
Mitchell and Theodore Winthrop. 

The handsomest residence in East Bridge- 
water was erected by General Lazell, and con- 
stituted his home. Here all his children were 
born, also several grandchildren and great- 
grandchildren. After his decease it became 
the home of Judge Nahum Mitchell, and it is 
now the property of Henry Hobart, Esq. 



404 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



TT^APTAIN JOSEPH E. HADLEY, 
I jp after followirig the sea nearly half a 

V»l£_^ century, the greater part of the time 
as ship commander, is now living retired at 
his home in Marion, Plymouth County, Mass. 
He was bom February 17, 181 7, in that part 
of Rochester, Mass., ithat is now Marion, a 
son of Joseph and Susan (Delano) Hadley. 
His parents reared foil^children, as follows: 
Elizabeth, who died im 1887; Stephen D., a 



sea captain, who died 



n March, 1894; Joseph 



E. , the special subject of this sketch; and 
Andrew J. 

Joseph E. Hadley was but four years old 
when his father died, and, being obliged 
when young to partly depend upon his own re- 
sources, his educational advantages were neces- 
sarily limited. At the age of sixteen he went 
on board a merchant vessel as a seaman, in 
which position he sailed to foreign ports 
three years. On his next voyage he went as 
second mate, and on the succeeding trip as 
first mate. In 1842 he was made master of a 
vessel, and from that time until his retire- 
ment he occupied the same prominent position 
in the merchant marine service. During his 
years of seafaring Captain Hadley became 
familiar with every capital city of Europe, 
twice circumnavigated the globe, and visited 
all the countries of the earth, excepting China 
and Japan. P^ifty times or more he crossed 
the Equator, eight times doubled Cape Horn, 
and four times the Cape of Good Hope. With 
few exceptions the Captain sailed from New 
York, and in most cases was part owner of 
the vessel which he commanded. He met 
with varied experiences, both on land and 
water. In i>S75 he lost a vessel on Rocas 
Reefs, near the coast o^ Brazil, but saved the 
entire crew, his ship running aground on ac- 
count of an error in thp chart. In 1875 he 
erected his present comfortable residence at 



Marion, in which, since 1879, he has lived re- 
tired from active pursuits, enjoying the fruits 
of his many years of venturesome toil and re- •' 
sponsibjlity. ,1 ^S ' J/' ^ 

On May 9, 1851] Captain Hadley married 
Miss Mary Miller Leonard, who died March 
19, 1879, leaving no issue. On July 9, 1885, 
he married Mrs. Georgiana Leonard Luce, 
daughter of Seth C. Leonard, and widow of 
the late Alfred Luce of Marion. 

Politically a sound Republican, Captain 
Hadley is a man of sterling character, highly 
respected by all who know him. He is a 
self-made man, having won his way up the 
ladder of prosperity by his own persistent 
energy. On his first trip to New York, then 
a beardless youth, he worked his passage, and, 
on returning a few years later, he came as the 
master of the ship — a significant fact, show- 
ing the ambitious diligence, ability, and suc- 
cess with which he pursued his calling from 
the beginning. 




YDNEY T. NELSON, one of the 
prominent citizens of Lakeville, 
Mass., a Selectman and a meml'er 
of the School Board, was born in this town, 
August 12, 1845. The son of Job P. and 
Fatima (Baker) Nelson, he belongs to one of 
the old New England families, tracing his de- 
scent from William Nelson, an Englishman 
who came to America in 163 1, and settled in 
Plymouth. From William Nelson the line is 
continued through William (second), three 
Thomases, and Abiel, to Job, the father, above 
named. The farm on which Sydney T. Nel- 
son was born was purchased in 171 3, and is 
still in the possession of the family. It was 
tilled by Job Nelson, who spent his life and 
reared his children there. Of these children 
there were four besides Sydney T. ; namely. 



•**s^ 



1 




ANSEL S. GURNEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



407 



Al)icl, I'lli/abetli 1'., Thomas M., and Car- 
oline. 

Sydney T. Nelson was educated in tiic dis- 
trict scliool and Peirce Academy, lie took 
charge of the homestead in his twenty-fourth 
year, and managed it until 1S79, living on 
the premises. In 1880 he moved to his pres- 
ent abiding place, a good farm of twenty acres, 
where he has since been successfully engaged 
in general husbandry. He is one of the lead- 
ing farmers of the locality, and is a member 
of Nemasket Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 

Mr. Nelson was married in 1872 to Miss 
Emma Tarkhurst, who died in 1881, leaving 
three children — Thomas S., Maude B., and 
Clifton \V. These children are the sixth 
generation born on the ancestral homestead. 
In 1886 Mr. Nelson married a second wife, 
Miss Lizzie Parkhiirst. By this union he has 
no children. 

In politics .Mr. Nelson favors the Republi- 
can side, and he has been elected to se\eral 
offices of trust. He has been Selectman and 
Assessor some si,\- years, a member of the 
School Board fifteen years; and he was in the 
Massachusetts legislature in i88<S. He is a 
man of much force of character and good judg- 
ment, and has the respect of all wlio know 
liim. 




ZT 



ATTAIN ANSEU S. GURNEY, now 
engaged in general farming and cran- 
berry raising in the town of Marion, 
Plymouth County, where he owns ninety acres 
of land, was in his earlier days identified with 
the fishing and commercial interests of this 
section of New ]*!ngland. His birth occurred 
in Marion, near Rochester, November 6, 1S23, 
he being one of a family of si.\ sons and three 
daughters born in the uarly part of the century 
to Captain Sullivan [and Jenny (Whitney) 
Gurney. His paternaj grandfather, who bore 



the name of Levi, was a son of Stephen 
Gurney. Levi Gurney formerly owned the 
farm now in possession of the Captain, and 
here spent the larger part of his long life, 
death leaving him uncalled for till some time 
in his ninety-eighth year. 

Ansel S. Gurney was reared and educated 
in Marion, attending the public schools until 
eleven years oUl, when he went on board one 
of the coasting-vessels as cook. His promo- 
tion to higher positions was rapid, being in 
each case well merited; and lie passed through 
the various grades of seamanship to the posi- 
tion of Captain by the time he attained his 
majority. Henceforth, until 1861, Captain 
Gurney was master and juart owner of each 
vessel in which he sailed, his seventeen years 
as commander being fraught with success. 
With the thrift and enterprise characteristic 
of tlie true-bmn New Englander, the Captain, 
while yet a follower of the sea, embarked in 
the grain business, succeeding so well in this 
venture that in 1857 he opened a grain store 
in Wareham, hiring a man to take charge of it 
while he was away from home. His business 
was affected by the financial panic of that 
year, which caused the failure of several firms 
with which he had dealings, and was more or 
less disastrous to all. Cap ain Gurney, how- 
ever, withstood the storm, and, meeting all 
his obligations, received a ji st meed of praise 
for his honesty of purpose so faithfully carried 
into action. Since that time lie has increased 
his mercantile business, becoming one of the 
largest dealers in flour, feed, hay, wood, and 
coal, in this locality. Soon after his mar- 
riage Captain Gurney bought the homestead 
property of ii is -paternal grandfather; and here, 
in addition to general farming, he is paying a 
good deal of attention to the culture of the 
cranberry, which has proved such a prolific and 
profitable fruit crop in this region. 



4o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Captain Gurney was married March i 5, 1S49, 
to Miss Lovicy B. Hathaway, daughter of 
Rufus F. and Ruth (Sampson) Hathaway, of 
Wareham. Of the children born to Captain 
and Mrs. Gurney, the following is the record: 
Estella, the first-born, is the wife of John W. 
Delano, of whom a short sketch appears on 
another page of this volume; Gilbert died in 
infancy; and Ruth S. is the wife of George 
M. Delano. Politically, Captain Gurney is 
an earnest supporter of the principles of the 
Republican party. Religiously, he and his 
wife may be numbered among the followers of 
Wesley, being members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 




RNEST LINCOLN COOK, of Bridge- 
water, manufacturer of building, sewer, 
and paving brick, was born in Mil- 
ford, Mass., July 22, 1865, a son of Levi A. 
and Sylvia (Holbrook) Cook. The Cooks are 
an old New England family, originally of 
Plymouth County. I<"rancis Cook, the first of 
this surname here, was one of the "May- 
flower Pilgrims." Mr. Ernest L. Cook's im- 
mediate ancestors settled about a century ago 
in Mendon, Mass. His father, Levi A. Cook, 
who is at present residing in Milford, was in 
the coal and wood business in that town for a 
number of years. 

Ernest L. Cook acc[uired his education in 
the public schools of Milford. When about 
eighteen years of age he began to learn the 
machinist's trade in Providence, R.I., where 
he was engaged for four years in the Rhode 
Island Locomotive Works. He was subse- 
quently in the employ of George Draper & 
Sons, of Hopedale, Mass., manufacturers of 
cotton machinery, setting up their machines 
in various places. He then began to manu- 
facture brick in a small way, employing 



about twenty-five men at first; and he has been 
so successful that he has been obliged to more 
than double his force. In 1891 he established 
his plant near the State Farm in Bridgewater, 
and here he has every facility for successfully 
carrying on his work. He has installed the 
latest improved machinery, of which he is a 
competent judge, being a practical machinist 
himself; and his equipment includes a valu- 
able steam drying-plant. The works are ad- 
mirably managed, and the plant is second to 
none in the State. Mr. Cook, though a young 
man, is gifted with ripe judgment and unusual 
executive ability, and is worthy of a place in 
the front rank of Bridgewater's successful 
manufacturers. In political matters he afifili- 
ates with the Republican party. He belongs 
to one social organization, the Masonic 
brotherhood, being a member of Fellowship 
Lodge, of Bridgewater, and is an attendant of 
the First Unitarian Church of this town. 

On October 26, 1896, he was married to 
Georgiana M. Wrisley, of Orange, Mass. 
Since that time he has resided in the Alden 
homestead on Titicut Street. 



Y^ATHANIEL TAYLOR, Secretary of 
I =/ the Board of Selectmen of Marshfield, 
-1-^ X^ was born in this town, January 28, 
1840. His parents were William and l'",liza 
S. (Kent) Taylor — the former a native of 
Scituate, Mass., the latter of Marshfield. 
Mr. Taylor's paternal grandfather was Richard 
Taylor, a citizen of Scituate, whose father was 
an Englishman. 

William Taylor was a master ship-builder, 
a skilled mechanic, vvho took pride in making 
his work of the finest, ami had charge of the 
building of several costly vessels. He was 
well endowed mentally, and kept step with the 
progress of his time in industrial and social 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



409 



matters. J'or some time lie was connected 
with the State militia. In politics he was a 
Democrat. He died in Marshfield in Decem- 
ber, 1889, in his ninety-fourth year, havinj^ 
siirvivetl his wife, wiio ]iasseil away in 1875, 
fourteen years. Of their children nine are 
deail, and the following are living: Elizabeth, 
wife of Captain Joiin J. Cook, of Province- 
town; Christiana, wife of Edward Arnold, of 
Rockland, Mass.; Cajitain William II., in 
Marslifield ; Captain Smith Taylor, in the 
same town : antl Nathaniel. 

Nathaniel Taylor was educated in the dis- 
trict schools of his native town, attending 
regularly until twelve years of age; and then, 
until he was seventeen, attending only the 
winter sessions, doing farm work the rest of 
the year. At the age of seventeen he shipped 
as a sailor, and was for some time engaged in 
the Grand Hanks fisheries, and subsequently in 
the foreign merchant service and whaling ex- 
peditions in the Atlantic. He followed the 
sea fifteen years in all, and during the last 
twelve years was an officer on different ves- 
sels. About 1872 he retired, settling in his 
present home in Marshfield ; and since that 
time he has occupied himself with carpentry 
and farming. He was married September 26, 
1S67, to Mary A. Cook, a native of Whitman, 
Mass., daughter of Asa anil Mary J. (Lewis) 
Cook. Mr. Cook was born in Whitman Mass., 
his wife in Marshfield. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor 
have been bereft of two children, and have one 
living, a daughter, Martha E. She is a grad- 
uate of the State Normal School at Bridge- 
water, has taught school for eight years, and 
at the present time is engaged as clerk in the 
Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor in 
Boston. 

Mr. Taylor votes the Republican ticket. 
He is serving his fourth term as Secretary of 
the Board of Selectmen, and by virtue of his 



Selectman's office is also Assessor and Over- 
seer of the I'oor. He and his estimable wife 
and daughter are members of the Methodist 
I'^piscopal church of Marshfiehl, of which he 
is Recording Steward and Treasurer. 



(STTTki 



1I1:R0N M. CO LJ:, a prosperous mi II- 
(Jjl owner of Carver, was born October 13, 
1843, on the farm he now occupies, son 
of Harrison and Lucy (Chase) Cole. His 
great-grandfather, who was the first member of 
the family to locate in Carver, owned consid- 
erable land here. Hezekiah, the paternal 
grandfather, established the bo.\ and saw mills, 
which are now operated by his grandson, the 
subject of this memoir. He was married 
twice, and was'the father of twelve children, 
four sons and eight daughters, of whom four 
yet survive. He jiassed away February 17, 
1843, in his si.\ty-si.\th year; and his wife, 
Jane, died March 6, 1825, aged forty-five 
years. 

Harrison Cole was born on the paternal es- 
tate, and there spent his entire life. He also 
entered twice into matrimony. His first wife, 
Lucy P. (Chase) Cole, a daughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. Levi Chase, of Carver, where she was 
born in 18 19, died December 8, 1874. She 
gave birth to seven children; namely, Hannah 
L., Tiieron M., Sarah A., Emma, Henry H., 
Horace C, and I^lnicr B. Hannah L. and 
Emma are now deceased. The mother passed 
away November 4, 1873. The father's second 
marriage was contracted with Miss Rebecca 
Richards, who is now living. He departed 
this life at Carver in November, 1886, at the 
age of si.'cty-nine years. 

Theron M. Cole attained to num's estate on 
the ancestral farm, acquiring his education at 
the public schools of his native town. In 
his early youth he began to assist his father 



4IO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in the work of the farm; and lie was still a 
boy when he took charge of the box and saw 
mills. Both mills ultimately came into his 
possession, and he has operated them uninter- 
ruptedly to the present time. In the box-mill 
he manufactures cranberry boxes and barrels, 
and in the saw-mill he manufactures lumber. 

Mr. Cole likewise has been twice married. 
In 1866 he wedded Miss Nancy B. Chandler, 
a native of Carver, and a daughter of Mr. and 
Mrs. Job Chandler, of Carver. She died in 
1881, and in 1885 Mr. Cole entered his second 
marriage with Miss Annie H. Robbins, 
daughter of Benjamin W. and Lydia F. , of 
Carver. By the last wife he became the 
father of four children; namely, Philip S., 
Frank H., Elsie L. , and Annie H. The 
mother died November 11, i8g6. Mr. Cole's 
political principles are those of the Demo- 
cratic party. In religious faitli ami sympathy 
he is in fellowship with the Congregational 
church of Carver, in which he officiates in 
the responsible capacity of Treasurer. 




NSLOVV VV. MAGLATHLIN, a resi- 
dent of Silver Lake, and senior mem- 
ber of the firm of O. \V. Maglathlin & 
Co., tack manufacturers of North Hanson, was 
born in Kingston, November 4, 1846, son of 
Peter W. and Marcia (Bradford) Maglathlin. 
The Maglathlin family, which is one of the 
oldest in Kingston, was founded in this coun- 
try by John Maglathlin, a native of Scotland. 
Some of his descendants in a direct line have 
resided in Kingston up to the present day. 

Peter W. Maglathlin, the father, above 
named, was a lifelong resident of Kingston. 
He was twice married, and Mr. Maglathlin's 
mother, whose maiden name was Marcia 
Bradford, was a native of Turner, Me. There 
are now living seven children of the late 



Peter W. Maglathlin, and they are as fol- 
lows: Harvey VV., Hanover, Mass.; Phile- 
mon VV., Onslow W., the subject of this 
sketch, Edwin L. , and Horace B. — all of 
whom reside in Kingston; Angle, wife of 
Elliott Blanciiard, of Turner, Me. ; and 
Helen A., who married Barker Baker, of 
North Hanson, Mass. 

Onslow W., the third son as here given, 
acquired his education in the public schools of 
Kingston. He was engaged in various kinds 
of employment until reaching the age of 
twenty-one, when he began to serve an ap- 
prenticeship of three years at the tack-maker's 
trade, one year of which he served under Porter 
C. Reed, at Silver Lake. After finishing his 
trade with his brother, Horace B. Maglathlin, 
he worked for a number of years as a journey- 
man, and in 1S83 he became a member of the 
firm of L. E. Ford & Co., of Kingston. In 
January, 1885, he withdrew from the firm, and, 
in company with Barker Baker, engaged in the 
same business in North Hanson. The firm of 
O. W. Maglathlin & Co. manufacture all 
kinds of shoe tacks, which find a ready market 
in the various shoe-manufacturing centres, 
their travelling salesman and representative 
being Ira W. Drake, of East Bridgewater. 

On March 31, 1870, Mr. Maglathlin was 
united in marriage with Hattie J. Bradford, 
a native of Turner, Me., daughter of Philemon 
W. and Lydia J. Bradford. Her father is no 
longer living, but her mother is still residing 
in Turner. Mr. and Mrs. Maglathlin have 
two chiltlren — Edna and Wallace L. 

Although Mr. Maglathlin favors the Repub- 
lican party he votes independently, and pre- 
fers to be directed in voting by the character 
and ability of the candidates for office. As a 
business man he is widely and favorably 
known throughout this locality, and his suc- 
cess is the result of his own unaided efforts. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



411 



r?": 



AI'TAIN ALBERT T. SPRAGUK, 



a retired ship-master, one of the lead- 
^*l£_-^ ing town officers of Marshfield, was 
born here, June 18, 1843, a son of Captain 
Scth F. and Jane (l-'ord) Spraj^iie. His father 
and mother were natives of Marshfield, as was 
also his paternal grandfather, Luther Sprague. 
Seth 1'". Sprague followed the sea for some 
twenty years, during which he was master of 
different vessels. He died in 1891, in the 
ninety-third year of his age. In politics he 
was formerly a Whig, but in later years affili- 
ated with the Republican party. Of his three 
children by his second wife, Jane Ford, only 
Albert T. survives. 

Albert T. Sprague was l)orn in the house in 
Marshfielil village where he resides. He 
attended public and private schools, and later 
was a student of Phillips Academy. In his 
seventeenth year he went to sea as a cabin 
boy. and through successive promotions rose to 
be ship-master when twenty-seven years of 
age, having prior to that time been on board a 
number of different vessels. The first of 
which he was Commander was the " Annapo- 
lis, "" a Baltimore packet that was refitted for 
the California trade, and carried merchandise 
of various kinds between San Francisco and 
Europe and China. He was with the "An- 
napolis" several years, after which he was 
Captain of others, among them being the clip- 
per "Derby."' During his nautical career he 
doubled Cape Horn twenty-six times, and 
visited the Philippine Islands, and many of 
the largest seaports of the world. In 1875 he 
retired from the sea, and for three years was 
assistant wharfinger at Constitution Wharf, 
Boston. Since that time he has resided in 
Marshfield, where he has been chosen to fill 
many of the princijial town offices. He has 
served as Selectman a number of years at in- 
tervals, and is one of the present board. In 



1896 he represented this district in the lower 
house of the State legislature. He is a mem- 
ber of the School Committee, one of the 
special Commissioners of Plymouth County, 
Chairman of the Board of Assessors, and an 
Overseer of the Poor. He is also a member 
of the Railroad Sinking Fund Commission of 
Marshfield, and Secretary of the Board. In 
political affiliation Captain Sprague is a 
Republican. 

On April 6, 1865, Captain Sprague was 
united in marriage with Miss Rosella F. 
Hatch, daughter of Israel and Abigail (Ames) 
Hatch. Five children were born to them, of 
whom four arc living, namely: Rosa M., the 
librarian of the Free Library of Marshfield: 
Albert T. , Jr., a Civil Engineer on the lioston 
& Maine Railroad; Scth F., who is connected 
with the wholesale grocery business of Charles 
V. Moody & Co., of Boston; and Wil lard H., 
who is employed in the Charles River National 
Rank at Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. Sprague is a 
member of the Congregational church, and 
both she and her husband are popular in social 
circles. 




HARLES MANSON, Town Clerk of 
Scituate, was born in this place, July 
'.2, 1845. H'-'' parents, Captain 
Joel L. and Mary (Jenkins) Manson, were also 
born in Scituate. The Manson family is of 
luiglish origin, and has been known anil re- 
spected in Scituate for generations, Captain 
Joel L. Manson"s grandfather, John Manson, 
having settled here considerably more than a 
century ago. 

John's son Nehcmiah, Charles Manson's 
grandfather, was a sea captain of Scituate, and 
a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son, 
Captain Joel L. Manson, was also a master 
mariner. He died in 1851. Mrs. Mary 
Jenkins Manson's father, Coleman Jenkins, 



4i: 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



who was a well-to-do farmer, was a member of 
an old Scituate family. The first of this sur- 
name in the town was Edward Jenkins in 
1646. Of the children of Captain Manson 
and his wife, two are living: Charles, the sub- 
ject of this sketch ; and Horace, in South 
Boston, Mass. 

Charles Manson was reared on the farm 
which he at present occupies — originally, the 
property of his maternal grandfather, Coleman 
Jenkins — and was educated in the public 
schools of Scituate. He has been engaged in 
general farming since early manhood, and 
has been very successful. Gifted with sound 
judgment and good executive ability, he does 
well whatever he undertakes. Mr. Manson 
votes the Republican ticket. He was first 
elected Town Clerk in 1886, and has been 
honored with re-election every year since. 

On September 8, 1893, Mr. Manson was 
united in marriage with Emma B. Pentz, of 
Meadville, Pa., daughter of William and Mary 
(Campbell) Pentz. Mr. Pentz, who was born 
in York, Pa., has been Trial Justice for about 
twenty years. Mr. and Mrs. Manson have two 
children: a son, Joel, born August 30, 1894; 
and a daughter, Ruth, born November 23, 
1896. Mr. Manson and his wife are members 
of the Unitarian church; and he has held the 
office of parish clerk for seventeen years. 




iDMUND HERSEY, 2d, is a well- 
known boot and shoe dealer of Hing- 
ham, Plymouth County, Mass. He 
was born July 7, 1829, son of George and 
Lydia (Marsh) Hersey, and is a lineal de- 
scendant of one of the early settlers of this 
ancient town, where the family has continu- 
ously been represented by enterprising and in- 
fluential citizens. 

The surname Hersey, also written in former 



days Hersee, Harsie, and Hearsey, is a very 
ancient one. 

The earliest record of the Hersey family 
that can be obtained is the name of a certain 
Malvicius de Hercy, in the year 1210. The 
family appears to have come originally from 
Flanders, and a Hughe de Hersey was gov- 
ernor of Trou Normand)' in 1204. Edward T. 
held another Hugh when a minor; i.e., took 
all his rents till he came of age. There is a 
Count Herce, Maine, France, running from 
the year 1500. Sir Malvicius married Theo- 
phania, daughter of Gilbert de Arches, Baron 
of Grove; and from him descended the family 
of Hercy of Grove, one of the first families in 
the county of Nottingham. In Warwickshire 
there is a village which still bears the name 
of Pillerton Hercy, or Hersey. The name also 
frequently appears in Berkshire, 

In the year 1635 Richard Hercy, aged 
twenty-two years, sailed from London for Vir- 
ginia in the ship "America"; and in the same 
year William sailed for New pjigland. Will- 
iam was the son of Nathaniel, who died in 
Reading, Berkshire, England, in 1629. Will- 
iam settled in Hingham, Mass. ; and the 
records of the town clearly show his identity. 
Thus the present American branch of the 
Hersey family, who descended from William, 
are able to establish their connection through 
Nathaniel with the English Berkshire family, 
and to trace their ancestry back to Sir Malvi- 
cius, who lived in the reign of King John. 

William Hersey, the progenitor of all the 
descendants who bear the name in Hingham 
and vicinity, came to New England, as above 
stated, in 1635, and early in the autumn 
located in this town. On July 3, 1636, a five- 
acre house lot was granted him on what is now 
South Street, nearly opposite West Street. 
This lot included within its limits the estate 
now owned by the heirs of the late Ebenezer 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



413 



Gay, Esq. At the time of the trouble about 
the election of officers for the train band, 
1644-45, VVilliam Hersey was assessed a 
heavy fine for supporting the views of tlic Rev. 
Peter llobart and his friends; and tlic family 
rate toward the erection of the new meeting- 
house was the largest one on the list. 

He and his wife, Elizabeth, had six cliil- 
dren. Me was by occupation a husbanthnnn. 
Me was made a freeman in 1638, officiatcti in 
tiie Boaril of Selectmen in 1642, 1647, and 
1650, and was a member of the Artillery Com- 
pany in 1653. Me died here March 22, 
1657-8. Mis wife lived until October 8, 
1671. Tlieir fifth child, Ji)hii Mersey, who 
was baptized in llingham, August 9, 1640, 
was a tailor by occu]5ation, and served as Con- 
stable in 1 701. He and his wife, Sarah, whom 
he married on May 18, 1669, in Dedham, it is 
saiil, resided on South Street, Hingham, where 
their eleven children were born. He died 
August 7, 1726; and his wife, surviving him, 
died on January 17, 1731, at eighty-two years 
of age. 

Jeremiah, their youngest chiUl, was born 
June 18, 1697. He was a cooper, and his 
home also was on South Street. On Decem- 
ber 8, 1726, he married I^lizabeth, who is 
thought to have been a daughter of Nathaniel 
and Judith Gilbert. By this alliance there 
were eleven children, who were all born in 
Hingham. The mother died here on January 
21, 1775, at the age of about si.\ty-four years, 
while the father lived until I'ebruary 9, 1790. 
Jeremiah, Jr., their eighth child, baptized 
October 18, 1741, was a trader, and resided 
on South Street. On December 31, 1772, he 
was united in marriage with Mary Hersey, 
daughter of Isaiah and Margaret (Sprague) 
Hersey. IVn childien l)lessed their union. 
The fatlier dietl October 7, 1796; and the 
mother, born in Hingham, October 9, 1755, 



died August 13, 1833, having been a widow 
nearly twenty-seven years. George, their 
seventh child, was born October 19, 1787. 
During his active manhood he was engaged in 
trade on North Street. On October 11, i82[, 
he married Lydia, daughter of Lot and Lydia 
(F"rench) Marsh. Three children — Mary, 
George, and Edmund — were the fruit of their 
union. The mother, Mrs. Lydia Marsh 
Hersey, wiio was born here, October 15, 
17S7, died February 15, 1S64. The father, 
George Hersey, lived until May 31, 1871. 

lulmund Hersey, 2d, their youngest born, a 
bright, precocious child, was educated in the 
public schools. At the age of si.xteen he 
commenced his business career, being vari- 
ously employed until he became a dealer in 
boots and shoes, which enterpri.se he still con- 
tinues. In politics he affiliates with the Re- 
publican party. Officially, he has been a 
member of tlie School Committee for over 
twenty years. Overseer of tiie Poor for twelve 
years, which office he still holds, and Rep- 
resentative in 1886-87. Mr. Hersey is a 
Director of the Hingham National Rank, on 
the Board of Investment of the Hingham In- 
stitution for Savings, and also Director of the 
Hingham I-'ire Insurance Company. Frater- 
nally, he belongs to Old Colony Lodge, A. l-". 
& A. M., which he has served as Chaplain for 
years. He has also been active in promoting 
public improvements. 

Mr. Hersey has been twice married. His 
first wife, formerly Adelaide Waters, died 
May I, 1857, leaving a daughter, Adelaide 
VV., now wife of I'rederick W. Howard, of 
Boston Highlands, and mother of one child, 
Freddie L. Howard. His second wife, whose 
maiden name was Mary Howard, died three 
years ago. She had one child, Howard P. 
Hersey, now clerk of the Hingham Savings 
Institution. He married Ruth Lane, daugh- 



414 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ter of Morallus Lane; and they have two chil- 
dren — Ethel L. and Celia Howard. In 
religion Mr. Edmund Hersey, 2d, is a Univer- 
salist; and, being a man of strong convic- 
tions, he is "able to give to every man a 
reason for the faith that is in him." 




"ON. GEORGE RARTLETT DUN- 
l^AR, formerly a well-known con- 
tractor of Brockton, was born in 
Plymouth, Plymouth County, Mass., July i6, 
1809. His family belonged in Halifax, this 
county; and his father, William Dunbar, and 
his father's brothers, were seafaring men. 
William Dunbar married Jerusha Holmes, of 
Plymouth; and they had five children, not any 
of whom are now living. 

George B. Dunbar acquired a common- 
school education in his native town, and then 
learned the carpenter's trade in East Bridge- 
water. He subsequently formed a copartner- 
ship with Oakes S. .Soule, under the style of 
Dunbar & Soule, which continued for twenty- 
eight years. They were at first contractors 
for building, but afterward engaged in the 
lumber business During the latter part of his 
life, after the partnership was dissolved, Mr. 
Dunbar was engaged in the real estate busi- 
ness. 

In politics he was a Republican, being also 
a man of pronounced temperance views. He 
served the town on the Liquor Prosecuting 
Committee for a time: and he had the honor 
to represent his district in the State legisla- 
ture one term, only missing a second election 
by a few votes, this loss being probably due 
to his temperance principles. He originally 
affiliated with the Sons of Temperance, but 
later with Fraternal Lodge, No. 24, Inde- 
pendent Order of Good Templars, in which 
he was active, influential, and popular. He 



was a faithful member of the Porter Congrega- 
tional Church. 

Mr. George B. Dunbar died on May 30, 
1875, in the si.\ty-si.\th year of his age. He 
had been married three times. His first wife, 
Sylvia Davis, daughter of Jethro Davis, of 
Fairhaven, Mass., bore him three children — 
William Henry, Mary A., and Sarah Jane 
— all of whom died unmarried. By his sec- 
ond wife, Betsey Kingman, daughter of Abel 
Kingman, he had one daughter, Betsey K., 
who was married to Daniel B. Littlefield in 
1864, and resides in Brockton. 

Mr. Dunbar is survived by his third wife, 
formerly Mary B. Richards, with whom he 
was united on December 22, 1850. Her 
parents were Luther and Mary (Sawin) Rich- 
ards, of Dover, Mass. The children born of 
this union were: Frederick B. and Emma L. , 
who died in infancy; and Maria N., who was 
married on April 18, 1877, to Austin F. 
Gurney. This daughter and son-in-law make 
their home with Mrs. Dunbar. 



/2)eORGE HUNT, M.D., physician and 
V P I surgeon, is one of the leading profes- 
sional men of Bridgewater, Mass. A 
son of David F. and Rebecca C. (Jenkins) 
Hunt, natives of Rockland, Mass., he was born 
in that town, March 12, 1855. The Hunts, 
who are of English origin, have been domi- 
ciled in New England a great many years, the 
first of the race having settled here in the 
seventeenth century. On the maternal side 
also Dr. Hunt's lineage runs back to the in- 
fancy of Massachusetts, his mother being a 
descendant of Governor Bradford of the Plym- 
outh Colony. 

George Hunt attended school in Rockland, 
graduating from the high school. He subse- 
quently took a thorough course in medicine at 




GEORGE B. DUNBAR. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



417 



Boston L'niversity, and he received his degree 
in iSSi. He commenced practice in Ikock- 
ton, tills county, where lie remained one year. 
'I'hen he moved to West Uritlgewater, and 
there was for scune lime associated with Dr. 
James C. Swan. In i 884 he started an inde- 
pendent practice in I'last Bridge water, and in 
1892 he located in Bridgewater. He now has 
a large and lucrative business in the Bridge- 
waters and Brockton, where lie is well and 
favorably known. In 1S84 he was united in 
marriage witli Lillian A. Browne, who was 
born in Abington, Mass. 

The founder of the Biowne family in Abing- 
ton is thus mentioned in Hobart's History: 
"Richard Brown, a remote descendant of An- 
thony Brown, emigrated to this country from 
England with lulith, his wife, and settled in 
Newbury, Mass., in 1633." Although the 
pedigree of Richard has not been traced, many 
interesting particulars concerning the English 
Browns of former generations have been gath- 
ered, partly, doubtless, from tradition, partly 
from records. The original Sir Anthony 
Browne is .said to have been knighted at the 
coronation of King Richard II. in 1377, and 
to have received the title Lord Viscount of 
Montague. His sons were: Robert, who suc- 
ceeded to the title; and Stephen, who was 
Lord Mayor of London in 1439. Sir An- 
thony's grandson, a second Anthony, was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Anthony, third, his grand- 
son, Anthony, fourth, a George, and others 
later bearing the title. Old Sir Anthony 
Browne is mentioned in Volume II. of Miss 
Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of Eng- 
land." What is known of this line of 
worthies is of a nature to stimulate further 
genealogical research. Mrs. Hunt's family 
have in their possession a copy of the original 
coat-of-aiins which ai)pcrt.iin to .Sir Wolstan 
jirowne, who in 1510, while in the service of 



King Henry \'IH., was knighted by the king 
of Arragon. This coat-of-arms was brought 
to Abington by Mrs. Hunt's ancestor, the 
Rev. Samuel lirown (.son of Richard), who 
was a graduate of Harvard College, and the 
first minister in Abington, where he was 
settled in 1712. It has been handed down 
since his day from father to son. 

Mrs. Hunt has borne her husband four chil- 
dren—William ]•:., Marion B., Harold D., 
and Reginald S. In politics Dr. Hunt favors 
the Republican side. Prominently interested 
in Masonry, he is a Past Master of the 
Masonic Lodge of East Bridgewater. He 
takes an active interest in the welfare of 
Bridgewater, where his friends are legion. 




ilSS TRYI'HENA WHITING, now 
residing in Hanover, her birthplace, 
was for many years successfully 
engaged as an instructor in the public schools 
of different towns in Plymouth County and in 
the West. She is a daughter of William and 
Cynthia (Curtis) Whiting, being the eldest of 
four sons and four daughters. Her father, 
William Whiting, was a farmer and merchant 
trader during the years of his business 
activity. He at one time served as Selectman 
of the town. lie died at the age of seventy- 
five years, his wife being fifty-nine at the time 
of her death. 

Tryphena Whiting grew to womanhood on 
the farm which is now her home, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools, Hanover Acad- 
emy, and the academy at Lunenburg, Mass. 
She began teaching at eighteen, her first 
school being in the town of Hanson, after 
which she taught in IVMnbroke for a year, and 
in Norwell and Hanover schools for several 
years. Going then to St. Joseph, Mo., she 
became a teacher in the public schools of that 



4i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



place, where she remained for sixteen years, a 
part of which time she was principal of the 
grammar school. She then returned to Han- 
over, and until three years ago, 1893, con- 
tinued to engage in her chosen vocation. 
Though she no longer presides over the school- 
room, the boys and girls grown to men and 
women, whose minds she has helped to train, 
are living lives of greater usefulness, and 
striving for the accomplishment of higher aims 
through having come und^r the influence of 
her instruction and example. Her interest in 
educational work still continues; and, as she 
has been a member of the School Committee 
for the past fifteen years, it has often found 
expression in many helpful ways. Miss Whit- 
ing is a communicant of the Baptist church of 
Rockland, Mass. 



EUTHER A. DOUGLAS, a successful 
merchant in Hingham, Mass., where 
-^ he has been located for twenty-three 
years as a dealer in gentlemen's furnishing 
goods, was born in Sandwich, Mass., July 25, 
1847. His parents were Luther and Lucy S. 
(Gibbs) Douglas. 

The earliest progenitor of this branch of 
the family in America was John Douglas, a 
native of Scotland, who was kidnapped in 
London, it is said, and brought to America in 
a merchant vessel, when he was twelve years 
of age, being subsequently bound out in 
Middleboro, Mass. He married Eunice Rat- 
liffe, of that town; and they had three children 
— Elijah, John, and George. John, second, 
born about 1722, married Mary Braley. At 
the breaking out of the Revolutionary War he 
volunteered his services, and was in the battle 
of Bunker Hill. 

John and Mary Braley Douglas had seven 
children, the first of whom was John, Jr., born 



March, 1752, who married Lydia Southworth, 
born June 12, 1759, and had thirteen children. 

One of this large family was John Douglas, 
fourth, a native of Miildleboro, a farmer and 
school-teacher, who removed to South Plym- 
outh, and taught the first school there. He 
served his country in the Revolutionary War, 
being Orderly Sergeant at Bunker Hill. He 
lived to an advanced age. His son Iqihraim, 
the grandfather of the subject of this biog- 
raphy, was born in Middleboro, but removed 
thence to New Hampshire for a short time, 
going thereafter to Plymouth. He was a 
farmer, and lived to be eighty-seven years of 
age. He volunteered in the War of 181 2, 
and, serving under General Brown, was in the 
Indian skirmish at Bridgewater, N.Y. 

Luther Douglas, son of Ephraim, was a sea- 
faring man, and is now a resident of Sand- 
wich. He married Lucy S. Gibbs, daughter 
of Josiah and Jane (Swift) Gibbs, of Sand- 
wich, Mass. By this union there were nine 
children, five of whom are living: Luther A.; 
Ansel G., a travelling salesman for a furni- 
ture house; Millard E., of Lynn, who is in 
the same business; Charles li., an engineer; 
and Mary M., wife of Charles Sherman, of 
Kingston, Mass. The mother died at the age 
of forty-six years. 

Luther A. Douglas received but a limited 
common-school education, being obliged when 
he was very young to work upon the farm. 
For a number of years he lived with his grand- 
father. At the age of twenty he went to 
Plymouth, where he became the clerk and 
manager of the Samoset House, remaining 
four and a half years. He then went to Clin- 
ton, Mass., and had served as manager of the 
Clinton House for one year, when he came to 
Hingham. At the Cushing House he offici- 
ated as clerk for four years, subsequently tak- 
ing charge of the cafe at Downer's Landing, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



419 



wliicli lie inanagcd efficiently five years. In 
tlic mean while he had established in a small 
way his present business, whieh f^jraduaily in- 
creased until it iei|uired his entire time antl 
attention. In [lojities he has been an intle- 
pcndent most of the time since he first voted, 
but he is now a Re|)ublican. Fraternally, he 
beloni;s to OKI c:olony I.od-e, A. I-'. & A. M. ; 
Royal Arch Chapter; and South .Shore Com- 
mandery, Knights 'i'emplars. 

Mr. Douglas was united in marriage with 
Klla Hrewer, of Hrewer, Me. Her parents 
were Francis I'", and Mary S. (Howes) Brewer. 
Her great-grandfatlier was Colonel John 
Hrewer, for whom the town was nametl He 
was the first Postmaster, the first Sheriff, and 
one of the most influential men in the county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas have one child, Alice 
H. In religious belief tiiey are Unitarians. 
I'ersonally, Mr. Douglas is popular socially 
and as a citizen. He takes great interest in 
genealogy, and has a penchant for collecting 
old curios. 




HICNFZER CRANK, who has followed 
farming in Lakeville, riymouth County, 
since early manhood, winning by his 
industiy and uprightness the respect and es- 
teem of his townsmen, was boin in Berkley, 
Bristol County, Mass., on November 2, 1820. 
His jiarents were Gershom and Sallie (Strow- 
bridge) Crane, the mother a native of Lake- 
ville. His parents also had two daughters — 
Caroline and Betsey; but he, the only son, is 
the only one of the family now living. 

When but five years old, ICbenezer Crane 
was brought to Lakeville by his parents, who 
settled on the farm where he now resides. 
As a boy, he attended the district schools, and 
later was a student at Peirce Academy in 
Middleboro. The farm, of which he has had 
charge since about the time of leaving school, 



is the old -Strowbridgc homestead. It con- 
tains aitout fifty acres, and besides this he 
owns a wood lot in Lakeville. He is succe.s.s- 
fully engaged in general husbandry. In poli- 
tics Mr. Crane is a Republican. 



rmo 



FORGE O. ALLFN is a represcnta- 
\J5| tive citizen of Scituate, a member of 
_ an old family long prominent in 
Plymouth County. He was born in Scituate, 
May 17, 1 838. His parents were George M. 
and Hannah K. (Otis) Allen. His grand- 
father, the Rev. Morrill Allen, was born in 
Dover, Mass., an early home of this branch of 
the Allen family. A college graduate, he was 
ordained to the Unitarian ministry, and took 
charge of a church in Pembroke, Mass., in his 
early manhood, being one of the first ministers 
of that town, where he was settled for forty 
years. He was widely known and esteemed. 
Owning an extensive farm in Pembroke, he 
was actively interested in agriculture, and was 
a recognized authority on that subject. He 
was a member of the Whig party, which 
elected him to the State legislature. The 
Rev. Morrill Allen died in 1S70, his ninety- 
fifth year. His wife lingered even longer 
here below, being in her ninety-eighth year 
when called to the life immortal. 

Their son, George M. Allen, was born in 
Pembroke, Mass., and reared to manhood in 
Plymouth County. He was well educated, 
and taught school for a while; but, shortly 
after attaining his majority, he engaged in 
mercantile business in Scituate, and, being 
very successful, followed that line for a num- 
ber of years. He was also interested in ship- 
ping. A man of strong character and more 
than average intelligence, he was prominent 
as a member of the Republican party, and was 
many years .Selectman of Scituate. He also 



420 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



represented the town in the legislature of the 
State. He was a strong supporter of schools 
and churches, and was for a number of years 
connected with the Unitarian society. He 
died in 1878, and was succeeded in business 
by his brother, William P. Allen, who also 
was a well-educated man, a school-teacher in 
his youth, and for many years a member of 
the Scituate School Committee. William P. 
Allen died in 1891. Mr. George M. Allen's 
wife, who was born in Scituate, died August 
28, 1889. 

George O. Allen was educated in the public 
schools of Scituate and at Plympton Academy. 
He has been engaged since early manhood in 
agricultural pursuits, owning an extensive 
landed property ; and he is one of the wealth- 
iest and most progressive farmers of this vi- 
cinity. He was married December 8, 1S80, 
to Deborah N., daughter of the late Thomas 
M. Hatch, of Scituate. In politics Mr. Allen 
is a Republican. He is a generous-minded 
man, always ready to promote worthy objects 
and to aid in well-considered jniblic improve- 
ments. Mr. Allen is Chairman of the Parish 
Committee of the Unitarian church. 




iAPTAIN ALEXANDER WADS- 
WORTH, one of the most venerable 
and highly esteemed citizens of 
Du.xbury, a retired ship-master, was born in 
this old Plymouth County town on August 22, 
1808, son of Ahira and Deborah (Sprague) 
Wadsworth. The Wadsworth family is of 
English origin; and this branch of the family 
in America descends from Christopher Wads- 
worth, its founder, who came, it is thought, 
on the ship "Lion " in 1632, and who was one 
of the earliest settlers in Duxbury, where his 
name appears on the records in 1633. Cap- 
tain Wadsworth's grandfather was Lieutenant 



Seneca Wadsworth, a native of Duxbury, who 
served in the Continental army during the 
Revolutionary War. 

Ahira Wadsworth, son of Seneca, was in 
his earlier years a seafaring man, and sailed as 
master of a vessel engaged in the merchant 
service. He finally retired from the sea, and 
was engaged in mercantile business here until 
his death, which took place some thirty years 
ago. His wife, whose maiden name was Deb- 
orah Sprague, was born in this town. Her 
father, the Hon. Seth Sprague, was formerly 
a prominent and influential citizen of Dux- 
laury, and for several years a member of the 
State Senate. 

Alexander Wadsworth acquired liis educa- 
tion in the common schools, which he at- 
tended until he was fifteen years old. At the 
age of seventeen he became a sailor, shipping 
before the mast, and advancing step by step 
until he was twenty-five, at which age he com- 
manded his first vessel. He was engaged in 
the foreign trade nearly thirty years; and dur- 
ing that time he visited almost every part of 
the civilized world, and commanded eighteen 
different ships, all of which were first-class 
sea-going vessels. In 1861 he retired from 
the sea after a career of unusual prosperity, 
both for himself and his owners; and he has 
since resided in Duxbury. 

Captain Wadsworth wedded for his first 
wife Beulah Holmes, who became the mother 
of two sons: Frank G. , who is now P'irst 
Lieutenant of the cutter "William Windom," 
in the L^nited States revenue service; and 
Alexander S. , who was born in the Bay of 
Bengal, and is now in the employ of Dame, 
Stoddard & Kendall, wholesale hardware mer- 
chants of Boston. He married in 1857 Selina 
Hilton, his present wife, a native of Lincoln 
County, Maine, and a daughter of Joshua and 
Abigail B. (Keene) Hilton. 



\ 




HORATIO CHANDLER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4-'3 



Although fast approaching his ninetieth 
birthtlay, the captain is well preserved and 
exceedingly active for one of his advanced 
years. I lis generation of the family has a 
somewhat remarkable record for longevity, as 
he has one sigter, Catherine, widow of the late 
Francis G. Ford, who is now in her ninety- 
fourth year, and another, Deborah, who is 
nearly eigiity-four. 

Ca[)tain Wadsworth is one of the few master 
mariners left who commanded vessels iluring 
the palmy days of the American merchant ser- 
vice, and he honored the flag under which 
he sailed. His many sterling qualities and 
his unfailing courtesy have endeared him to 
his fellow-townsmen, most of whom are of a 
younger generation than himself; and he re- 
mains as a connecting link between the sturdy 
old navigator of the past and the younger, but 
no more efficient, commander of the present 
day. His residence is one of the handsome 
and commodious dwellings which contribute 
to the attractiveness of Duxbury as a summer 
resort. 



f^|(lR.\TIO CHANDLER, of Duxbury, 
has achieved success in three distinct 

^ x^ , ^ lines of industry — agriculture, man- 
ufacturing, and fish culture — his trout breed- 
ing especially, which has passed the experi- 
mental stage, yielding most gratifying results. 
Mr. Chandler was born in Duxbury, Mass., 
August 20, 1835, a son of Nathaniel L. and 
Sallie (Sampson) Chandler. He belongs to 
one of the old Duxbury families, tracing his 
descent' from lulmund Chandler, an English- 
man, who settled in this town in 1633. 

From Edmund the line of descent was con- 
tinued by Joseph, Joseph, second, Philip, Asa, 
Asa, second, to Nathaniel, the father above 
named, who was a native and lifelong resident 
of Duxbury. He was a thrifty and enterpris- 



ing man, who cultivated a farm, and at the 
same time worked at the stone mason's trade. 
He was at first a Whig, and later a Republi- 
can in ])()litics, and was elected to a number 
of town offices. His death occurred July 14, 
1890. His wife, a native of Kingston, Mass., 
had passed away some years previous. Of 
their children, three are dead — Sarah T., 
Nancy D., and Martha J. — and the following 
are living: Nathaniel L. ; Emmons A., in 
West Duxbury; Horatio, in Duxbury; Julia 
W., wife of Jason H. Randall, of Duxbury; 
and Willard R. 

Horatio Chandler, the subject of this 
sketch, grew to manhood in his present home, 
acquiring his education in the public schools 
of Duxbury. His first business venture was 
in the manufacture of box boards, he purchas- 
ing a share in the Howland hex board mill on 
Pine Brook, his father at the same time buy- 
ing a share, and Captain H. B Maglathlin two 
shares. The stock company thus formed fur- 
nished the funds for the enterprise, which 
from that time to the present has been con- 
ducted in Horatio Chandler's name, and has 
been very successful. Mr. Chandler likewise 
has a good farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres, much of which is under cultivation. 
The most fascinating of his pursuits, however, 
is raising trout. In April, 1890, he estab- 
lished a "hatchery" on his farm, beginning 
with about ten thousand trout fr}', and in the 
spring of 1891 a most promising second crop 
was started. The place must be well adapted 
for trout culture, as the fish have continued to 
increase from year to year; and it is well 
worth the tourist's while to visit the Chandler 
farm, and see the trout in their home. Mr. 
Chandler deems it a pleasure to explain to the 
visitor the various important features con- 
nected with trout breeding, and his enthusiasm 
is infectious. 



424 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Chandler was married February i8, 
1873, to Rosa Spaulding Avery, a native of 
Montpelier, Vt., daughter of Ebenezer and 
Rosamond (Spaulding) Avery. Her parents 
were natives of New Hampshire. Her grand- 
father, George Avery, who was a Revolution- 
ary soldier, was taken captive by the Indians, 
and held in confinement for some time, being 
finally exchanged. His last days were spent 
on a farm in New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. 
Chandler have two daughters: Rosa A., born 
September 11, 1875; and Mabel M., born Oc- 
tober 18, 1877, both graduates of Partridge 
Academy at Du.xbury. Mr. Chandler is a 
Democrat in political affiliation. He has 
served for some time as Surveyor of Highways 
in Duxbury, and has been solicited to occupy 
higher official positions. He and his wife 
and daughters are esteemed members of Dux- 
bury society. 




RANCIS COLLAMORE, M.D., a 
practising physician of Pembroke, 
Mass., is one of the best known and 
most highly respected citizens of this town, of 
which he is a native. He was born December 
7, 1825, son of Horace and Laura (Briggs) 
CoUamore. His paternal grandfather was 
Enoch Collamore, of Scituate. Horace 
CoUamore, son of Enoch, was born in -Scitu- 
ate in 1791. He was educated in the public 
schools of Scituate and at Hanover Academy. 
Upon starting out in life for himself, he was 
first employed in Boston as a clerk: and he 
afterward entered into business in that city as 
a merchant. Subsequently he removed to 
North Pembroke, where he erected a brick 
building, and engaged in a general mercantile 
business, which he continued until his death 
on August 27, 1867. He was a member of 
the Massachusetts legislature in 1841 and 



1842. His wife, Laura, was born in Pem- 
broke, and was a daughter of Elisha and 
Laurentia (Hall) Briggs. Her maternal 
grandfather, Dr. Jeremiah Hall, served in the 
American forces as a surgeon during the 
French and Indian War, was a member of the 
Provincial Congress held in Massachusetts in 
1774, and was subsequently a Colonel in the 
Revolutionary War, having command of a 
Rhode Island regiment. Dr. Hall was a na- 
tive of New Hampshire, whence he came to 
Plymouth County, Massachusetts. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth Bailey, of Hanover. Mrs. 
Laura B. Collamore died at the age of seventy- 
three years. She had reared ten children. 

I'rancis Collamore was educated at Hanover 
Academy. When seventeen years old, he 
began teaching school, which occupation he 
followed for a number of terms. At the age 
of eighteen he began the study of medicine 
with his uncle, Dr. Anthony Collamore, who' 
practised in Pembroke for about forty years. 
He subsequently attended lectures at the 
Harvard Medical School, and later at the 
Medical Department of Dartmouth College, 
where he was graduated in the fall of 1846. 
The young Doctor first practised in Brain- 
tree for about six months; but upon the death 
of his uncle, Dr. Anthony, in September, 
1847, he came to Pembroke, succeeded to his 
uncle's practice, and has since resided here. 
He has kept well up with the advance of his 
profession, being familiar with all the wonder- 
ful discoveries made during the last few years 
in medicine and surgery, in bacteriology and 
kindred sciences, and he has gained a wide 
reputation as a thoroughly competent and skil- 
ful practitioner. He is a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Medical Society and of the Plym- 
outh District Medical Society. Aside from 
the pursuit of his regular calling he has been 
actively engaged for many years as a man of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



425 



affairs, and as an incumbent of public ofiice, 
in which capacity his am|)ic talents have been 
(levoteil to promoting; the interests of the 
town, and pushing forward every practical 
scheme for the betterment of the community. 
He was Town Clerk for twelve years, for over 
thirty years a niciiiber of the School Commit- 
tee; and he is now Town Treasurer, and is 
also Secretary and Treasurer of the Marshfield 
Agricultural Society. He has been a Repub- 
lican in politics since the formation of that 
party. In 1881 he was a member of the State 
legislature. 

On Ajnil g, 1849, Dr. Collamore was 
united in marriage with Miss Priscilla Joslyn 
Mann, daughter of John C. and Sylvia (Hedge) 
Mann, of Pembroke. The Doctor and his 
wife have reared one son and one daughter, 
namely: l-'rancis, Jr., who married Florence 
A. Whitman, and resides at East Bridgevvater; 
and Fiorina M., who is living at home with 
her parents. The Doctor has led a careful 
life, and is still hale and active to a greater 
extent than many a younger man. He is 
widely known, and wields a strong influence 
for good in the community. 




"ON. HENRY BARSTOW, ex-State 
.Senator, is a well-known business 
man residing in Mattapoisett, where 
he owns box and board mills. He was born 
in this town, December 3, 18 17, a son of Ben- 
jamin and Rebecca (Hammond) Barstow. 
His father, who was born in Duxbury, was 
a ship-builder of New Bedford and Mat- 
tapoisett. He died on March 2, 1867. His 
mother died February 13, 1865. There were 
eight children in the family, and two are now 
living, namely: the subject of this sketch; 
and Susan C, who married David H. Cannon, 
of Mattapoisett, now deceased. 



Henry Barstow was given a limited school- 
ing in his native town, and is mainly .self-ed- 
ucated. He began to work at ship-building 
with his father when fourteen years of age, 
and in 1849 was an expert at his trade. In 
that famous year he made one of a company 
of seventy-three who purchased the whaling 
vessel " Oscar " at Sag Harbor, Long Island, 
and started for California. They .sailed 
around Cape Horn, and were somewhat over 
five months on the voyage. Arriving at San 
I'rancisco, Mr. Barstow disposed of his- inter- 
est in the vessel; and, there being few ship- 
builders on that coast willing to work, and the 
wages being far in advance of anything he had 
ever known, he decided that the surest road to 
fortune was by way of his trade. The second 
year he, in connection with two others, con- 
ducted a business of his own, building a num- 
ber of vessels. In the fall of 1853 he returned 
to Mattapoisett, and, opening a lumber yard, 
engaged in the manufacture of spars. At the 
breaking out of the war he was appointed to a 
position in the Charlestown Navy Yard, which 
he retained until the summer of 1863, when 
he was elected a member of the Massachusetts 
Senate. He was in the Senate two terms, 
finishing his service in 1865; and, on return- 
ing to Mattapoisett, he established the box 
and board mills which are yet under his 
supervision. In all that he has undertaken he 
has commanded success, and his course in life 
has been such as to win respect and con- 
fidence. 

Mr. Barstow was married in 1S42 to Miss 
Mary Southworth, who died April 6, 1892. 
She was the mother of two children — Henry 
and Sarah, who have both passed away. 

Mr. Barstow has long been identified with 
the Republican party. As stated above, he 
served in the State Senate in 1864 and 1865; 
and he was also in the legislature in 18S4. 



1 



426 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



For several years he was a member of the 
Mattapolsett School Committee. 



T^APTAIN WILLIAM BATES, of 
I Sr^ Scituate, is one of the best-known 
^i^ ^ citizens of this part of Plymouth 
County, and highly popular by reason of his 
genial, whole-souled disposition. He was 
born in Scituate, August 16, 1828, a son of 
Captain John and Sallie (Northey) Bates. 

Captain John Bates, who was born on the 
Cape, was a seafaring man, and commanded a 
number of fishing schooners and coasting 
vessels. His wife was born in Scituate, on 
the farm immortalized by Samuel Woodworth 
in "The Old Oaken Bucket," now owned by 
H. H. Northey.' Three of their children are 
living to-day, namely: Betsey, widow of Jo- 
seph Tuttle, residing in Chicago, 111.; Will- 
iam, the subject of this sketch; and Coleman, 
in North Ellsworth, Me. 

William Bates was educated in the common 
schools of Scituate. While still a boy, he 
often accompanied his father on fishing trips; 
and ships and sailors became vital parts of his 
life. He went to Boston when he was twenty- 
one to learn the trade of calking and graving, 
and, after finishing his apprenticeship of two 
years, obtained employment as a journeyman. 
He followed his trade exclusively for ten 
years, and then, returning to Scituate, en- 
gaged in fishing, also entertaining fishing 
parties in the summer season and building 
boats in the winter. In this way he has now 
been occupied for a great many years; and he 
is well known to the fishermen of the South 
Shore, and to the summer excursionists who 
come here for recreation. Captain Bates is a 
Grand Army man, having served in Company 
D, Forty-second Regiment of Massachusetts 
Volunteer Infantry. During the greater part 



of his term of service he was on military 
police duty at Alexandria, Va. He belongs 
to George W. Perry Post, Grand Army of the 
Republic, No. 31, of Scituate. 

He has been twice married. His first wife, 
who was Miss .Sarah A. Pepper, of Boston, 
Mass., left two children: Emma, wife of 
Charles A. Cole, of Oshkosh, Wis. ; and 
Walter C. , a resident of Boston, Mass. His 
second wife, formerly Miss Ermina T. Earley, 
is a native of Queen's County, Nova Scotia, 
daughter of Benjamin P. and Hannah F. 
(Ringer) Earley. She has one child, William 
C. Bates. Captain Bates votes the Republi- 
can ticket. He takes an active interest in 
local affairs, and ranks among the foremost 
citizens of the place. 



-Tt^OBERT T. DELANO, D.D.S., a 
I S^ popular dentist of Wareham, Mass., 
»->' v_ ^ was born in the town of Marion, 
this State, July 13, 1857. His parents were 
John and Elmira (Benson) Delano, his father 
being a native of Marion, Mass., and the 
mother a native of Newburg, N. Y. They had 
seven children, of whom five are now living: 
William H. C. ; Lizzie R. ; John W. ; George 
M. ; and Robert T. , the subject of this sketch. 
Robert T. Delano acquired his first knowl- 
edge of books in the district school, and after- 
ward attended Peirce Academy in Middleljoro. 
He began to study for his profession when 
eighteen years of age, entering the private 
office of Dr. E. V. McLeod in New Bedford, 
where he was employed for a year. He then 
entered the Philadelphia Dental College; and, 
after a year's close application to study there, 
he went back to New Bedford for a while, 
subsequently returning to the college, where 
he was graduated in 1879. Immediately after 
receiving his diploma, he opened an office in 




AUGUSTUS PRATT. 



BIOC.R AIMIICAL RK.VIKW 



429 



Wareham ; and, with the exception of two 
years, 1886 and 1887, spent in Gardner, 
Mass., he has since followeii liis profession in 
this town. Dr. Delano is a skilful dentist, 
and has a large practice. He is also engaged 
in cranbcrrj' culture, owning meadows in the 
town of Marion. 

He was married June 26, 1886, to Miss 
Mary L. Davis, of I<"almouth, Mass., daughter 
of John W. and Susan Davis. Dr. and Mrs. 
Delano have two children: l-'lorence L., born 
April 13, 18S7; and Mildred I'"., born March 
22, 1896. 

In politics Dr. Delano is a Republican. 
He is a man of much practical ability, and 
has won the respect of his townsmen, who 
have kept him in office as Town Auditor for 
four years. He lias been Master of Social 
Harmony Lodge, A. V. & A. M., of Ware- 
ham, for three years, and Past Grand of 
Wankinquoah Lodge, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, being very prominent in frater- 
nal circles. 




UGUSTUS I'RATT, an enterprising 
and public-spiriteil citizen of North 
Middleboro, was born in Wareham, 
Mass., May 24, 1829, son of Jared and Jemima 
Williams (King) Pratt. His father, Jared 
Pratt, will) was a native of Bridgewater, early 
in life removed to North Middleboro, where 
he began a successful business career in a 
country store. From North Middleboro he 
removed to Wareham, and began the manu- 
facture of cut nails, which was one of the first, 
if not the first, established industry of the 
kind in the country. Tliis business, wiiicli 
grew to extensive proportions, was first car- 
ried on under the firm of I. & J. Pratt, and 
was afterward incorporated as the Wareham 
Iron Company. Mr. Jared Pratt was the man- 
aging agent and treasurer of both of these 



firms until 1836, when he purchased extensive 
iron estal)lishments in Harrisburg and I'air- 
view, I'a., which were devoted to the manu- 
facture of boiler plate and nails. About the 
same time he purchased a large farm in North 
Middleboro, and removed with his family to 
this place. He began in Harrisburg what 
jiroved a very successful business, forming a 
partnership with his oldest son, Christopher 
C. K Pratt, the firm being known under the 
name of Jared Pratt & Son. He divided his 
time between his farm at North Middleboro 
and his iron establishments at Harrisburg. 

Augustus Pratt, who was the second son of 
his parents, was educated at the public schools 
of Middleboro, Peirce Academy, Middleboro, 
and liridgcwater Academy. Preferring an 
agricultural to a mercantile life, he was, 
when very young, given the management of 
tlie farms at North Middleboro, and has con- 
ducted them successfully for fifty years. He 
enjoys an agricultural life, and is satisfied 
with the soil of New England, having never 
felt any desire to try Western farming. He 
has long taken an active interest in the success 
of the Plymouth County Agricultural Society, 
has been a member of the Board of Trustees 
for many years, and was President of the so- 
ciety for the years 1894 and 1895. He has 
been elected by the Board of Trustees for 
three successive terms, of three years each, as 
a member of the State Board of Agriculture, 
and at the present time holds that ])osition. 
Through an election by the State lioard of 
Agriculture, he has been for several years a 
member of the Committee for the Suppression 
and Ivxtermination of the Gypsy Moth, tlie 
Board being legally intrusted with that work. 
Since early manhood Mr. Pratt, has been inter- 
ested in the planting of both fruit and forest 
trees. In 1850 he gathered and planted white 
pine seed on a large tract of barren waste land, 



43° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and for the last few years has been cutting 
valuable pine logs for timber and boards, this 
proving an excellent way to make use of such 
unproductive land. 

Mr. Pratt is a Republican, and has taken an 
active part in politics since the first election 
of Abraham Lincoln. In 1869 he had the 
honor of representing the town in tlie legislat- 
ure. In religion he is a Congregationalist, 
having united with the church at North 
Middleboro in 1868. In 1883 he was elected 
Deacon, and has served in that office up to the 
present time. When the church edifice was 
destroyed by fire in 1893, a parish meeting 
was called for the purpose of rebuilding it; 
and a committee of five was chosen, of which 
he was made Chairman. He was very active 
in raising funds for the purpose, contributing 
one thousand dollars himself. Mr. Pratt has 
all his life been interested in the cause of ed- 
ucation. When the Hon. linoch Pratt, of 
Baltimore, established and endowed the insti- 
tution known as the Pratt I<"ree School, Mr. 
Augustus Pratt was appointed by the donor as 
a member of the Board of Five Trustees, with 
power to fill vacancies as they should occur. 
P'or the last twenty years he has been Presi- 
dent of the Board of Trustees. He has also 
served eleven years as a member of the School 
Board of the town of Middleboro; and he was 
a member of the Building Committee of I'ive 
chosen by the town to contract for the erection 
of the high school building. 

Mr. Pratt was married in 1851 to limily M. 
Eaton, daughter of Colonel Oliver and Diana 
W. Eaton. Their children are: Herbert Au- 
gustus, born February 28, 1854; P^mma 
Louisa, born June 9, 1862. Herbert A. 
Pratt has been for more than twenty years en- 
gaged in the manufacture of shoes in company 
with N. W. Keith, the firm being known as 
Keith & Pratt. He married Lucy li. Rich- 



mond, and has two children — Alton Gerard 
and Harold Maxwell. Emma L. Pratt mar- 
ried Theodore A. Richmond. 




ITHAN E. PIERCE, a farmer of Lake- 
ville, was born in this town, June 24, 
1824. He is the eighth in line of 
descent from Abraham Pierce, the immigrant 
ancestor, who joined the Plymouth Colony in 
1623, the line being as follows: Abraham, 
Abraham, Jr., Isaac, Isaac, Jr., Job, P^lkanah, 
Ethan, Ethan K. The elder Ethan Pierce, 
who was a farmer by vocation, married Miss 
Fanny Hoard, and to them five children were 
born: P^Iizabeth; Pillkanah; Ethan E., the 
subject of this sketch; Job; and a son who 
died in infancy. Of this family only two, 
Elkanah and Ethan E., are now living. 

Ethan E. Pierce was sent to the district 
schools in his boyhood, and also to Peirce 
Academy at Middleboro, and thus acquired a 
fair education. In hks early manhood he as- 
sumed the charge of the paternal estate, and, 
with the exception of fourteen years spent in 
Berkley, his entire life has been passed in his 
native locality. By judicious management 
and wise investment he has become an exten- 
sive land-owner, possessing, besides one hun- 
dred acres of the farm settled by the founder 
of the Pierce family in Pl)'m<)uth County, 
two hundred and fifty acres in this county, 
and also lands in Bristol County. In addition 
to general farming Mr. Pierce has engaged in 
the business of marketing lumber, and has 
also devoted a great deal of time to cultivating 
strawberries, an industry of recent date in this 
part of the country. 

On December 31, the last day of the year, 
1857, Ethan E. Pierce was united in marriage 
with Miss Rhoda M. W. Pierce, daughter of 
Alvin T. and Loda (Williams) Pierce, of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4%^ 



Taunton, Mass. I'"ivc children were born of 
this union: Eliza M., who is a teacher; Will- 
iam Chester; Rhoda W., wife of David S. 
Hoard, of New Bedford ; Ethan Alvin, named 
for his two grandfathers; Fanny ]?., the wife 
of S. N. Stoples, of Berkley. There is but 
one grandchild in the family, Luther B. 
Hoard. 

Mr. Pierce has never aspired to public 
office. His special interest has been elicited 
in the local grange of the I'atrons of Hus- 
bandry, with which, as a farmer of large in- 
fluence, he has naturally become affiliated. 
Mrs. Pierce is a conscientious member of the 
Unitarian church. Ethan E. Pierce stands 
out as one of the representative farmers of 
Plymouth County, where he now keeps up the 
good rejjutation of those of his name who have 
gone before. 




iOLONEL HIRAM A. OAKMAN is 
a distinguished citizen of Marshfield, 
who has long been known to the 
public, having won his epaulets in active ser- 
vice in the War of the Rebellion, served with 
credit as a government employee, and repre- 
sented this district in the State Senate; and 
during his entire life, as a teacher and school 
officer, he has taken great interest in the pub- 
lic schools. He was born in Marshfield, 
Ajiril lo, 1827, son of Hiram and Jane Soule 
(Rogers) Oakman. The first of the family in 
this country was Samuel Oakman, an lOnglish- 
man who settled near Portland, Me., as early 
as 1657; and his son Tobias, Colonel Oak- 
man's direct ancestor, and the founder of the 
Marshfield branch of the family, moved from 
.Spiirwink, Me., to this town. Constant 
Eobes Oakman, the Colonel's grandfather, 
was born in Marshfield. He was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary army; and one of his sons. 



Hatch Oakman, was a carpenter on board the 
"Chesapeake" at the time of her memorable 
battle with the "Shannon" in Boston Bay in 
June, 1813, when the brave Lawrence uttered 
his famous command, "Don't give up the 
.ship!" 

Hiram Oakman, father of Colonel Oakman, 
was a native and lifelong resident of Marsh- 
tiekl, where he died in 1884. He was a shoe- 
maker, and was also engaged in farming. His 
wife, Jane Soule Rogers, was a daughter of 
Thomas Rogers, of Marshfield, a Revolution- 
ary soldier. Three of the seven children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Oakman are living to- 
day, as follows: Hiram A., whose name ap- 
pears at the head of this article; Henry P., 
in Boston, Mass.; and Mary J., wife of 
Henry A. Turner, of Norwell, Mass. Colonel 
Oakman's mother was a descendant of George 
Soule, one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims; and 
hoth the Colonel and his wife, it may be men- 
tioned, number among their ancestors four 
others of that famous band: namely, Edward 
Doty, Richard Warren, John Howlanil, and 
ICdward Tilly. 

Hiram A. Oakman was educated in the 
common schools of Marshfield and the State 
Normal School at Bridgewater. He taught 
school for a number of years, was also for some 
time engaged in agricultural pursuits, and for 
fifteen years he was employed in the weigher's 
department in the Custom-house, Boston. 
He has likewise done a great deal of survey- 
ing. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company 
E, Seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 
and was mustered in in June as First Lieu- 
tenant; and on the first day of the following 
December he was commissioned Captain. 
Attached to the Army of the Potomac, he was 
in a number of serious engagements; and at 
the second battle of Fredericksburg, in the 
charge on Maryc's Heights, May 3, 1863, was 



432 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wounded in the right thigh. In July he was 
discharged for disability caused by this wound ; 
and in January, 1864, here-entered the service, 
and was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel in 
the Thirtietli United State Colored Troops. 
He organized this regiment in Baltimore; and 
when it took the field Colonel Bates, afterward 
General Bates (of whose gallantry Colonel 
Oakman speaks in the highest praise), was 
appointed commander, and served as such 
until he was severely wounded at the Crater 
fight on the 30th of July, 1864, when the com- 
mand of the regiment devolved upon Colonel 
Oakman, he continuing its leader till the reg- 
iment was mustered out in December, 1865. 
Among the engagements in which he took 
part was the siege of Fort Fisher. At the 
end of his term of service Colonel Oakman 
returned to Marshfield, where he has since 
made his home. 

Colonel Oakman married Lucinda, daugh- 
ter of Ichabod Hatch, late of Marshfield, and 
six children have blessed their union, three of 
whom are living: Edward H., born on April 29, 
1853, now in Brockton, Mass.; Celia J., born 
May 21, 1854, now wife of George ¥. Wilson, 
of Marshfield; and Otis B. Oakman, A.M., 
born October 27, 1864, a Harvard graduate, now 
professor in Thayer Academy at Braintree. 
In public affairs Colonel Oakman has long 
been an active factor. He has been a member 
of the Marshfield School Committee for a 
number of years, and Chairman of the School 
Board for an extended period; and in 1890 he 
represented the First Plymouth District in 
the Massachusetts Senate. For several years 
he has held the office of Justice of the Peace. 
He has retained his connection with the Grand 
Army, being at present Commander of David 
Church Post, No. 1S9; and he is a member of 
Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Hing- 
ham ; and of the South Shore Commandery, 



Knights Templars, at East Weymouth. In 
politics he has always been a strong anti- 
slavery man and a Republican. In religious 
belief, while a pronounced Unitarian, he is 
charitably disposed toward all denominations. 



T^APTAIN JOB H. GODFREY, whose 
I NX death occurred in Lakeville on Sep- 
^J^ ^ ^ tember 8, 1895, and who had been 
an esteemed citizen and successful farmer of 
the town for three decades, was a native of 
Taunton, Mass. He was born September 4, 
1 8 19, son of Captain Job and Catherine 
(Montgomery) Godfrey. 

Captain Job H. Godfrey grew to manhood in 
Taunton, receiving his education in the public 
schools of that city and at Peirce Academy in 
Middleboro. When a young man, he went to 
sea for a few years, then returned home, and 
lived on a farm in Taunton until 1865, when 
he removed to Lakeville, and purchased a farm 
of sixty-three acres, on which he resided until 
his death, the date of which appears at the 
beginning of this sketch. While living in 
Taunton, he became a member of the volunteer 
fire department, and was subsequently chosen 
captain of one of the companies. He was 
connected with the department for about 
twenty years. 

For his first wife Captain Gotlfrey married 
Miss Elizabeth Hart, who bore him six chil- 
dren, namely: Elizabeth, who died in infancy; 
Jones; Isabel; Job; Abbie E. , deceased; and 
Herbert, deceased. Their mother died i)i 
1865. Captain Godfrey's second and last 
marriage took place in 1S66, uniting him with 
Miss Jane Reed, daughter of Daniel Reed, of 
West Bridgewater. There were no children 
by this union. Mrs. Jane R. Godfrey is still 
living. 

Captain Godfrey was successful in his busi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



433 



ness operations, and at his death had acquired 
considerable property. In politics he was a 
Democrat, and served one term in the State 
legislature. He also served as Overseer of 
the I'oor in l.akeville, and as Tt)wn Autlitor. 



-OIIN l^ARKICR, Town Clerk and Treas- 
urer of Hanson, Mass., was born in 
ihetown of Hanover, I'lymouth County, 
November 3, iiS40. His jjarents were Benja- 
min, Jr., and Deborah C. (Damon) Barker, 
lienjamin Barker, Sr. , his grandfather, was a 
native of that part of Pembroke which is now 
Manson. He acquired a common-school edu- 
cation, and became a successful farmer. He 
was one of the pillars of the orthodox church, 
with which he was connected by ties of mem- 
bership. He married and had a large family, 
of whom Benjamin, Jr., born in Hanson, Jan- 
uary 17, 181 1, was the second child. Having 
completed his education in the common 
schools, he learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for seven or eight years, 
and afterward gave his attention to farming, 
also taking an active interest in town affairs. 
He married Deborah C. Damon, who was a 
resident of Hanover, and they had eight chil- 
dren. Mr. Benjamin liarker, Jr., died Feb- 
ruary 26, 1885. 

John Barker came with his parents to Han- 
son when he was init fi\'e years of age. Alter 
receiving the mental ec|uipment of the public 
schools, he learned the shoemaking trade at 
the age of fifteen. I'ive years afterward he 
responded to the first call for troops, enlisting 
in the Twenty-second Massachusetts Volunteer 
Infantry, Company B. At Gaines Mills he 
was wouniled in the breast, and was subse- 
quently captured and taken to Libby I'rison. 
About si.\ months after his liberation he re- 
turned to active duty, and was again wounded 



at the Battle of Gettysburg, where a ball 
struck him above the mouth, knocking out 
seven teeth, ami [)assing through the right 
side of his face. At the expiration of three 
years he was honorably discharged, and return- 
ing home resumed his trade until 1878. 
Since that time Mr. Barker has spent his time 
at home looking after his farming interests, 
and also actively participating in town 
affairs. h'or al)out ten years he officiated as 
Collector of Taxes, and since 1879 he has 
been Town Clerk and Treasurer. In 1885 he 
was sent as Representative from the Third 
Plymouth District to the legislature, in which 
he served one year. He has done considerable 
business as agent for the Abington Insurance 
Company. In politics he is a Republican. 
I'raternally, he is a member of T. L. Bonney 
Post, No. 127, Grand Army of the Republic. 
He was Commander of the Post for two years, 
and has held all the other offices. 

Mr. Barker was first married on April 28, 
1870, to I']llen A. Dyer, of .South Abington. 
She died on December 5, 1886, leaving two 
daughters; and on December 25, 1887, he was 
united in the bonds of matrimony with Ida C. 
Revnolils, of Harwinton, Conn. 




LEANDKR WILLIAMS is a prom- 
inent citizen and successful farmer 
in Lakeville, formerly a part of 
Middleboro, Plymouth County, Mass. A son 
of Elkanah anil Catherine (Hoard) Williams 
and grandson of George Williams — all of this 
town — he was born here on February 9, 1833, 
being one of a family of five children. .\ 
sister, Keziah, died in infancy; and .Mr. 
Williams has two sisters and one brotiier liv- 
ing, namely: Fliza, the wife of Granville 
Leonaid; John, wiio lives on his father's es- 
tate; and Cordelia A., who is Mrs. Filo H. 



434 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



I'ickens, of Taunton. The graves of the par- 
ents are in the Corswell Cemetery. The life 
of Elixanah Williams was a quiet and unevent- 
ful one, and his attachment to his home so 
strong that he has always been content to re- 
main in the region of his nativity. 

II. Leander Williams, the fourth child of 
the parental household, was reared on his 
father's farm in Middleboro (now Lakeville), 
leading the healthful, simple life of a farmer 
lad, attending the district schools, and enjoy- 
ing and suffering the common joys and griefs 
of boy life. After assimilating the mental 
food supplied by the neighboring schools, he 
became a pupil at Peirce Academy, where his 
education was completed, and at eighteen 
years of age entered upon the work of teach- 
ing. This occupation he followed for a few 
years, and then he temporarily abandoned it 
to accept a position as. assistant to Chief En- 
gineer James Pierce, his cousin, who was at 
this time in charge of the construction of the 
railroad between Middleboro and Taunton. 
When the road was completed, Mr. Williams 
removed to Rutland, 111., where he again pur- 
sued his former vocation, teaching in that 
town for a period of a year and a half. At 
the expiration of that time he returned to 
Lakeville, and began farming on the old place 
of his grandfather, George Williams, which 
he now owns. 

Besides the ancestral estate of one hundred 
and fifty acres he has other tracts, and he is 
one of the most prominent landed proprietors 
in the locality. Since settling down as a 
farmer in his native county he has held many 
offices of honor and trust, serving in the 
capacity of Selectman, Assessor, and Justice 
of the Peace, and filling each and all satisfac- 
torily. He is at the present writing one of 
the Justices of the town, and has been an in- 
fluential factor in the Republican politics of 



Lakeville for more than thirty years. He is 
a Mason, belonging to Mayflower Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., in Middleboro, and is a 
consistent member of the Congregational 
church of his precinct. H. Leander Will- 
iams has won respect and success, to both of 
which he is justly entitled. 



T^APTAIN GEORGE H. BROWN, 
I St^ keeper of the United States life-sav- 

Vfcl£_^ ing station at North Scituate, is 
well and favorably known on the South Shore. 
He was born in Boston, Mass., July 15, 1841, 
a son of George W. and Mary (.Sherman) 
Brown. 

The Browns are one of the old families of 
Scituate, and the Captain's grandfather, Ben- 
jamin Brown, was born in this town, as was 
also his father, George W. Brown. The latter 
was an enterprising and successful business 
man, a member of the ship-building firm of 
Brown & Lovell, prominent for many years in 
East Boston. He spent his last years in 
Scituate, dying here in 1889. In politics 
Mr. George W. Brown was a Democrat. 
Mrs. Mary S. Brown was a native of Eree- 
port. Me. 

George H. Brown was reared in Boston, and 
obtained his education in the common schools 
of that city. When he was fourteen years old 
he went to sea before the mast in one of the 
first clipper ships built, the "Staghorn," mak- 
ing a voyage around the globe, touching at 
California, Honolulu, Hong Kong, and Eoo 
Chow, and returning by way of the Cape of 
Good Hope. When he was seventeen years 
old he began to learn the ship caulker's trade 
in Boston, serving with his father until he was 
twenty-one years old. Shortly after attaining 
his majority, in September, 1862, he enlisted 
in Company C, P'orty-second Massachusetts 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



43S 



Volunteer Infantry, as a nine months' man. 
The detachment to which lie was assigned was 
named the Washint^ton Light Guards, and was 
sent to New Orleans to join General ]5anks's 
army. Mr. Brown was enrolled in the en- 
gineer corps, and served in that body for a 
year in and about New Orleans. After receiv- 
ing his discharge he returned to Scituate, and 
for a short time was in command of the 
schooner "h'rank," a packet plying between 
Scituate and ]5oston ; ami he was subsequently 
engaged for a number of years in fishing in 
Massachusetts Bay and vicinity. In 1879 he 
received a government appointment as a surf- 
man at l''{)urth Cliff, one of the United States 
lite-saving stations, and in 1886 he was ap- 
pointed keeper of the station at North Scitu- 
ate. Here he has been on tluty now for more 
than ten years, and no braver or more trust- 
worthy member of the life-sa\ing corps can 
be found on the coast. 

Captain Brown was married August 22, 
1864, to Lydia B. Burrows, daughter of Cap- 
tain Thomas l^urrows, and has two cliildren — 
George W. and Stella II. 

The Captain votes the Republican ticket. 
He is a member of Cohasset Lodge, No. 192, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Co- 
hasset ; and belongs to George W. I'erry Po.st, 
No. 31, Grand Army of the Republic. 

The Burrows family, it will be remembered, 
is one that has distinguished itself in Ameri- 
can history. Captain Thomas Burrows, Mrs. 
Brown's father, was a nephew of William 
Burrows, Lieutenant Commander of the "En- 
terprise," who, in September 5, 18 13, won 
the victory over the Britisii "Bo.xer" in the 
famous naval engagement off the coast of 
Maine. Lieutenant Burrows was mortally 
wounded, but remained on deck, and received 
the sword of his fallen foe. With military 
honors the remains of the two brave com- 



manders were buried side by side in Portland. 
Governor Beadle, of Keyport, N.J., was a 
cousin of Ca|)tain Tiionias liurrows, and an 
uncle was a judge. 




OK RILL ROBINSON, M.I)., lor 
many years an able and liighly 
esteemed physician of North 
Mi(kllel)i)ro, Mass., died at his home in this 
town, March 16, 1873. He was born in South 
Raynham, Bristol County, Mass., August 15, 
1803, son of Godfrey and Abigail (Pierce) 
Robinson. Godfrey Robinson, who was a 
surveyor, and drew the first map of the town 
of Raynham, was the son of Josiali Robinson, 
the son of Captain Itibenezer Robinson, son of 
Increase Robinson, the son of William Robin- 
son, who emigrated to Boston in 1635. 

Godfrey Robinson was a well-to-do farmer of 
South Raynham. After his death, which oc- 
curreil when the future Doctor was thirteen 
years old, the farm was afterward carried on 
by his sons. His wife, Mrs. Abigail Pierce 
Robinson, a native of Middlcboro, Mass., was 
a woman of more than oniinary ability and 
force of character. She was the mother of 
five sons, each of whom lived to be nearly 
seventy years old. 

Morrill Robinson acquired his knowledge of 
tiie elementary branches of learning in the 
town schools of Raynham, and he prepareil for 
college under the tutorship of the Rev. Silas 
Hall. In 1827 he graduated from the Medical 
Department of Brown LTniversity, where he 
was a classmate of Dr. W. W. Conistock, and 
in the same year he located in North Middle- 
boro. He jjractised his profession in this 
town without interruption for nearly fifty 
years, occupying the same residence all the 
time, and by an unconscious display of those 
noble qualities of heart and mind which form 



436 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the principal cliaracteristics of an honorable, 
upright man, he endeared himself to all with 
whom he came in contact. He was a member 
of the State legislature in 1843 and 1843, 
serving on important conunittees. He united 
with the Baptist church in South Raynham 
when a young man, and continued a member 
until his death, which took place as above 
stated, when he was sixty-nine years old. 
His loss was the cause of sincere mourning 
and regret by the entire community in which 
he lived. 

On February 12, 1828, Dr. Robinson was 
united in marriage with Mary Shaw, daughter 
of Calvin Shaw, of Abington. They became 
the parents of nine children, six of whom are 
living; namely: Thomas D., Mary A. J., 
Frances C, Lucy M., Lydia S., and Ella C. 
Thomas D. Robinson, a lawyer, is practising 
his profession in company with his son in New 
York City; Mary A. J. Robinson married 
Colonel Timothy S. Atwood, formerly of the 
United States Army, and is now residing in 
Brockton; Frances C. Robinson married Luke 
B. Noyes, a native of Whitman, who was in 
business in Whitman, Brockton, and Boston, 
until his death in 1886, and she is now resid- 
ing with her daughter in Maiden, Mass. ; 
Lucy M. Robinson, M. D., and her sisters, 
Lydia S. and Ella C, are residing at 28 Glen- 
wood Street, Brockton. Mrs. Morrill Robin- 
son, the mother, died December 27, 1884. 

Lucy M. Robinson was born in North 
Middleboro, and her preliminary education 
was pursued under her father's care. She 
entered the Women's Medical College of 
Philadelphia, one of the oldest medical schools 
for women in America, and was graduated in 
1888. Since completing her studies she has 
practised medicine in Brockton with success, 
and is fitted both by nature and ecUicational 
traininsi for an honorable and useful career. 



She is connected with the Massachusetts Med- 
ical Society, and the New England Hospital 
Society. 

T^HARLES OTIS ELLMS.— Readers 
I VV of the department of the Boston Tni/i- 
\ j? ^ script, bearing the caption "Notes 
and Queries," have observed from time to 
time valuable contributions in regard to his- 
toric and genealogical matters signed "Scitu- 
ate. " It is not, perhaps, generally known 
that the author of these contributions is 
Charles O. Ellms, of Scituate, who is as well 
versed in agricultural as in antiquarian lore, 
and has written many widely read articles for 
the papers. Mr. Ellms was born on Merrimac 
Street, Boston, December 13, 1S30. His 
parents, Charles and Sally (Bryant) Ellms, 
were both connected by ties of kinshijj with 
prominent actors in the early settlement of 
the country, and events known to most of us 
through books alone were familiar to them 
through the relation of eye-witnesses. 

The Ellms family is of English origin. In 
\.\\& Massacliusctts Ploiiglnnan for August 13, 
1 88 1, we find the following: " Rodolphus 
Ellms, the ancestor of all his name in this 
country, came over from England in 1640, 
being one of the 'Conihasset' partners, with 
"■rants of land from the king, who was the first 
Charles. On their arrival at Scituate, which 
had then just assumed its new name, he openly 
sympathized with the Quakers, and was sub- 
jected to a fine of ten shillings for being 
present at a Quaker meeting." 

The subject of this sketch is descended 
from Rodolphus through Jonathan, Robert, 
Robert, Jr., Captain Charles, and Charles. 
Captain Charles, Charles O. Ellms's grand- 
father, was a noted ship-master. When Na- 
poleon Bonaparte issued his famous Berlin de- 
cree to retaliate on England, he was captain 




CHARLES 0. ELLMS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



439 



and owner of a vessel sailing in the West 
Indies. Captured by a French privateer, he 
was taken to the island of Guadaloupe in 
February, 1800, and his vessel confiscated. 
Thus he became one of the plaintiffs in the 
French spoliation claims. 

Charles ICllms, son of Captain Charles, was 
born in .Scituate in 1805. He removed to 
Boston when he was five years old, and there 
he was educated in a private school. For 
a number of years he was engaged in pub- 
lishing and selling books on Cornhill, Court, 
and State Streets; and he is pleasantly re- 
membered by the old citizens of Boston who 
can look back fifty or sixty years. "He orig- 
inated and published the celebrated 'Davy 
Crockett,' 'Teople's' and 'Comic' almanacs, 
which had such a remarkable circulation for 
those days. On the decease of his mother 
he relinquished business, and retired to the 
homestead farm at Scituate, disposing of the 
copyright of those popular publicatitins to the 
late S. N. Dickinson, whose genius as a Bos- 
ton printer won a wide and enduring reputa- 
tion."' Mr. Films, the publisher, was also the 
autlior of a nunil)er of popular books, in- 
cluding "Shipwrecks, and Disasters of the 
Sea," "Tragedy of the Seas," "Crusoe's Own 
Hook." and "The Pirate's Own Book." He 
died in 1865. 

He was a great-grandson of Samuel Tha.xter, 
third, of llingham, Mass., known as Major 
Samuel, born in 1723, graduated at Harvard 
College in 1743, whose grandfather, Samuel 
Thaxter, first, was Captain of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company in 1728, and a 
little later Colonel of the regiment in which 
the Hingham men served. His son, Samuel 
Thaxter (second), also a Colonel, was graduated 
at Harvard College in 1714. He died in 
1732, survived by his second wife, Mary 
Ilawke. Major Samuel was his son by his 



first wife. The widowed stepmother married 
the Rev. John Hancock, of Braintrce, and they 
were the parents of Governor Hancock. 
Major Samuel Thaxter was an officer in Colo- 
nel Richard Gridley's regiment in the I'rench 
and Indian War. He was captured by the 
Indians at the mas.sacre at I'ort William 
Henry in August, 1757, but escaped through 
the connivance of the French officers, and 
arrived at Hingham after Dr. Gay had 
preached his funeral sermon. His daughter 
Sally, grand-aunt of Charles I-illms, was the 
wife of Mr. John Bulling, who, it has been 
asserted, was the man who hung the lantern in 
the tower of the Old North Church, as a signil 
for Paul Revere to ride and ajjprise the wait- 
ing patriots of the approach of the British. 
Certainly the daring deed was well done, 
whether by John Pulling, church warden, or 
by Robert Newman, the sexton, to whom it 
has been ascribed quite as confidently. (For 
different authorities see "Boston Memorial 
History, vol. iii. p. loi.) 

Major Samuel Thaxter's daughter Mary, 
grandmother of Mr. Charles . Films, married 
Joshua Otis, an ardent Whig and patriot. 
He was second cousin to James Otis, the 
patriot and orator. Mrs. Mary Thaxter Otis, 
though the wife of a patriot, surrounded by 
patriotic associations, and a frequent visitor at 
Governor Hancock's house, was a devoted roy- 
alist. When a son was born, she insisted 
that he should be named George after the 
king. Her husband promised that he should 
bear that name, and, taking the child to 
church, had him christened George Washing- 
ton. This George Washington Otis was the 
father of James Otis, now deceased, who was 
at one time Mayor of San Francisco. Mrs. 
Otis's Tory proclivities were excited to the 
utmost during the war of 181 2. She and her 
husband were eye-witnesses of the fight in 



44° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Boston Bay between the "Chesapeake" and the 
"Shannon," Joshua Otis anxiously wishing for 
the victory of the hero Lawrence's ship, his 
wife glorying in the eventual triumph of the 
British vessel. Frederick William Greenleaf, 
famous the world over as the "Harry Wads- 
worth" in Edward Everett Hale's "Ten Times 
One," was a cousin of Charles Ellms. 

Mrs. Sally Bryant Ellms, mother of Charles 
O. Ellms, was born in Lexington, Mass., in 
i8og, and came from a family who have borne 
a prominent part in the affairs of that historic 
town. She was one of the young ladies 
selected to welcome Lafayette on the Lexing- 
ton battle-ground when he visited this country 
in 1824, and made the tour of the States. 
Jonathan Harrington, the last survivor of the 
Battle of Lexington, was accustomed to give 
his young lady friends as a wedding present, a 
rolling-pin of his own make. Mrs. Ellms, 
who received one, gave it long after to the 
Historic Society of Lexington, in whose rooms 
it is now on exhibition, among other relics of 
ye olden time. Mrs. Ellms was connected 
with prominent Boston families. The brother 
of the late Mayor Shurtleff married her sister; 
and Parker H. Pierce, a prominent Boston 
merchant, was her uncle. He commanded the 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery in 1830, at 
the two hundredth anniversary of the settle- 
ment of Boston, and has left a sealed letter to 
be handed down and read before that company 
in 1930, at the three hundredth anniversary of 
that event. Mrs. Sally Bryant Ellms died in 

1893. 

Charles Otis Ellms was educated in the 
public schools of Boston, being one of the 
original members of the Brimmer School; and 
he has a letter of recommendation from his 
master, Joshua Bates, which he prizes highly. 
He remembers as a pleasing incident of his 
boyhood seeing the Lidian chiefs Black Hawk 



and Keokuk in Boston, when they were being 
taken on a tour through the United States 
after the Black Hawk War, and giving to 
Black Hawk a peacock's feather, with which 
the chief was delighted; and another never-to- 
be-forgotten event was the visit to the school 
of General Bertrand, a short, white-haired 
gentleman. Napoleon's favorite general, and 
his companion at St. Helena. 

In 1852 Mr. PLllms went to California, trav- 
elling by the Nicaragua route; and he spent 
nearly seven years in the gold regions, eiulur- 
ing the hardships and braving the perils of a 
miner's life. Returning by the Panama route, 
he arrived in Scituate in 1858, about the time 
of the Pike's Peak excitement. Going back 
to the West a little later, he started from 
Leavenworth, Kan., with ox teams, and, the 
progress being necessarily slow, he had much 
time to see the country, and to observe the 
mode of living of different Indian tribes. 
Kansas was under territorial government at 
this time, and the Border Ruffians and Free 
State men were at war. As gold was not 
found in sufficient paying quantity to warrant 
a protracted stay, Mr. Ellms returned to Scit- 
uate, and settled on the home farm, an estate 
of forty acres. 

He has been successfully engaged for years 
in breeding Jersey stock, and was the owner 
of the celebrated cow, "Jersey Belle, of Scitu- 
ate," which produced seven hundred and eight 
pounds of butter in one year, and twenty-five 
pounds, three ounces, in one week. This ani- 
mal was of such national reputation that when 
the news of her death flashed over the wires, 
the Chicago Board of Trade, then in session, 
adjourned to talk about her. Mr. Plllms has 
been for twenty-five years a Director in the 
Marshfield Agricultural and Horticultural So- 
ciety, and Secretary of Satuit Grange of Nor- 
well, from the time of its organization; and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



It' 



he lias writtL'ii nuicli for Tlic Massachusetts 
Ploitgliman, I lie .Wri' liiti^laiid Fanner, and 
other kinilrcd publications, on cattle breeding 
and various topics. An enthusiastic anti- 
quary, he is a memijcr of the Pilgrim Society, 
and has a store of knowledge in regard to the 
early days antl inhabitants of New England. 

"T. VV. T. " {'i'honias \V. Tucker), a former 
editor of the lioston Herald, writes in the 
Transcript: "You have an occasional corres- 
pondent signed 'Scituate,' in the 'Notes and 
Uueries, ' whose articles I value highly for 
their accuracy and interesting matter. This 
gentleman is Mr. Charles O. Ellms, an old 
Hoston boy of intelligent observation, who has 
many antique curiosities. He resides in 
Greenbush, Scituate, Mass., and takes great 
l)leasure in exhibiting his unique collection. 
lie is a memlier of the "Old Schoolboys of 
Hoston ' society." 

The Boston Transcript, in another issue 
says, editorially: "That is a pretty incident 
mentioned by 'Scituate' in the 'Notes and 
Queries' department to-day, of rabbits running 
in and out the cannon of the old Boston 
Arsenal. What a contrast of timid peace and 
grim and bloody war I Would that there were 
no further use for any cannon in the world 
than to serve such purpose as this I" This 
last quotation shows that Mr. Ellms has an 
eye for the poetic as well as the practical, and 
his writing covers a wide range. 



Yf/0/ ALTI'LR riCTIvRSON, a general 
VfeV merchant and the postmaster of 
Brant Rock, was born in Marshfield, 
Eebruary 24, 1848, son of Zephaniah S. C. 
and Harriet (Taylor) Peterson. The Peter- 
sons are one of the old families of this vicin- 
ity. ICsias Peterson, Walter's grandfather, as 
well as his father, was a native of Du.xbury. 



The latter, who was a shoemaker, worked at 
his trade, and also managed a small farm. 
He died when his son Walter was eleven years 
old. His wife, whi) was born in Marshfield, 
died when Walter was eighteen years of age. 
Of the several ciiildren born to this couple, 
two are living to-day, namely: Walter, the 
subject of this sketch; and Zephaniah W. , 
who resides in New Bedford, Mass. 

Walter Peterson, being the eldest of the 
family, was called upon to take his father's 
place before he entered his teens. The re- 
sponsibilities then thrown upon him quickly 
develojied his self-reliance. He attended the 
common schools of Marshfield until he was 
sixteen years of age, and then began to learn 
the shoemaker's trade. While serving his 
apprenticeship, and for a short time afterward, 
he made shoes on his own account. Subse- 
quently, for a number of years, he was in 
the employ of Gardner & Arnold, shoe bot- 
tomers and manufacturers at Sea View. 
While working for this firm he tried the e.\- 
pcrimcnt of conducting a refreshment tent at 
15rank Rock for a year. It was quite success- 
ful, and in the following year he erected a 
small building. Thereafter this business in- 
creased year by year. He now has one of the 
best-equipped general stores in this part of the 
State, carrying in .stock a general line of gro- 
ceries and produce, hardware, furniture, boots 
and shoes, paints and oils, and furnished with 
a Bell long-di.stance telephone, for the con- 
venience of the public. He is also the pro- 
prietor of the popular Ocean House at Brant 
Rock, with its special restaurant and recrea- 
tion facilities, keqiing i)leasure boats for hire, 
and summer cottages for sale and to let. Be- 
sides employing a number of hands in the 
busy season, both he and other members of the 
family are in constant attendance on his pa- 
trons, While fortune has smiled upon him 



442 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




in all his ventures, he has done much to de- 
velop the summer life of this popular resort. 

On January 24, 1873, Mr. Peterson was 
united in marriage with Sarah A. Walker, 
who was born in Scituate, Mass. They have 
seven children; namely, VV. Leslie, H. 
Annie, E. Lloyd, Julia C, Bertha E., Sarah 
E. , and Lizzie B. The father has been post- 
master of Brant Rock for a number of years. 
Having been in business for about thirty 
years, he is now known to all the regular 
visitors as well as the residents of the place, 
who respect him for the qualities by which 
he has acquired his present measure of pros- 
perity. 

"ON. GARRISON B. BLACKMER, 

one of the prominent and influential 
residents of Rochester, was born 
May I, 1825, on the Blackmer farm, his pres- 
ent home, son of Captain John and Nancy 
(Mullen) Blackmer. The homestead farm, 
which covers one hundred and fifty acres, has 
been owned by Blackmers for a full century, 
having been purchased in 1796 by Salisbury 
Blackmer, the grandfather of Garrison B. 
Captain John Backmer, who commanded a 
merchant vessel, was lost at sea with his en- 
tire crew in 1827. His wife was left with si.x 
children; namely, James, John, Mary P., Eliza- 
beth, Garrison B., and Nancy S. — Elizabeth 
and Garrison B. being the only survivors. 

Garrison B. Blackmer obtained a part of his 
education in a private school held in his 
father's house. Much of the knowledge that 
now marks him as a man of more than ordinary 
intelligence was acquired without a teacher. 
He took charge of the farm when fifteen years 
of age, and it has now been under his direc- 
tion for over half a century. Besides plenti- 
ful crops, his farm produces good pasturage 
for cattle. He has been very successful in 



general farming. In politics Mr. Blackmer is 
a Republican. Active in affairs for a number 
of years, he has efficiently filled several public 
offices. In 1857 he was a member of the 
State legislature. For five years he served as 
Selectman of the town of Rochester. For 
four years he was Town Treasurer and Col- 
lector. He was qualified as a Justice of the 
Peace twenty years ago, and he is still exer- 
cising the functions of that office. He was 
on the School Committee for a number of 
years, and he has also served as Assessor, 
Overseer of the Poor, and Highway Surveyor. 
A Free and Accepted Mason in good stand- 
ing, he belongs to Pythagorean Lodge, of 
Marion, Mass. In religious matters he favors 
the Christian sect. Industrious, intelligent, 
and law-abiding, and a member of an old 
Rochester family, he is highly regarded in this 
town. 

EORENZO D. BRALEY, of Rochester, 
Mass., who has achieved success in 
^^^ several branches of industry, was 
born June 20, 1829, in Freetown, Bristol 
County, son of Bradford and Patience (Parker) 
Braley. His first knowledge of books was ac- 
quired in the district school near his home. 
When he was eighteen years old 'he went to 
New Bedford, where he spent a year and a 
half learning the moulder's trade. In 1849 
he was one of a company which fitted out the 
brig "Zoroaster" for a voyage to California. 
Taking the route around Cape Horn, it 
reached San Francisco in six months and two 
days. Here Mr. Braley thought it better to 
work as a laborer for seventeen dollars a day 
than to engage in the uncertain occupation of 
gold prospecting. He had been employed in 
this way for about three months when he fell 
sick of typhoid fever, and was taken to a hos- 
pital on the Sandwich Islands. He remained 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



443 



seven months in tlie Sandwich Islands, acting 
as steward of the hospital for a few months 
after his recovery. When the opportunity 
offered, he started for home, engaging as boat 
steerer on the brig "Sarah." After reaching 
Freetown, he remained there a year and a 
half. Then he returned to California, travel- 
ling this time by way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
ama, in a company of eighty. During his 
second visit he engaged in prospecting and 
mining, and was fairly successful. After re- 
maining about eighteen months in the Golden 
State, he came home by the Nicaragua route. 
By this time he was tired of the rough and law- 
less life of the West, and decided to remain 
in liis native State. He subsequently worked 
at his trade in Freetown for two years. Then 
he moved to Rochester, and, after living in 
that toun three years, he erected the residence 
which has sheltered him since. In the mean 
time he learned the cigar-maker's trade, and 
thereafter followed it for seven years at home 
as the employee of a tobacco dealer. He 
afterward manufactured cigars for twenty years 
on his own account for the wholesale trade, 
and was very successful at the business. He 
has also achieved success in farming and 
lumbering. His land covers about one hun- 
dred and seventy-five acres, including sixty 
acres of homestead, and ten acres of cranberry 
meadow. On the latter he has raised quanti- 
ties of cranberries in the past ten years. 

Mr. Hraley was married in 1S51 to Miss 
Charity P. Rounsville, by whom he became 
the father of six children — William, Ida, 
Jennie, Dora, Nellie, and Herbert. In 1876 
he entered a second marriage, contracted with 
Miss Helen M. Tinkham, who has borne him 
no children. In politics he follows an inde- 
pendent course, voting for the best interests 
of the public. He has served Rochester as 
Selectman, and in other minor offices. A 



Mason in good standing, he belongs to Eureka 
Lodge, of New Bedford. 




I'.LVIN S. LITCHJ-IKLD, of North 
^ Scituate, a retired shoe manu- 

_ facturcr, comes of an old Plym- 
outh County family, which has given to the 
Bay State patriotic soldiers, sturdy farmers, 
successful financiers, and able statesmen. He 
was born in Scituate, September 28, 1822, a 
son of Enoch and Eliza (Collier) Litchfield. 
His grandfather, Isaac Litchfield, as well as 
both parents, was also a native of the town. 
(F"or an account of the origin and early gener- 
ations of the family, see the biography of 
William II. Litchfield, of Scituate.) Isaac 
Litchfield, whose father was a Revolutionary 
soldier, worked at his trade of carpenter for 
many years in Scituate. Enoch Litchfield 
learned the shoemaker's trade, followed it 
during a great part of his life, and died in the 
seventies. Of his children, besides Melvin 
S., there are living* Zenas IL, George W., 
and Eliza J. 

Melvin S. Litchfield acquired a rudimentary 
education in the district schools of Scituate, 
attending the winter sessions chiefly until he 
was twelve years old. At the age of seven he 
began to help his father in making shoes, so 
that, on reaching his majority, he was an ex- 
pert shoemaker. Then, starting in life for 
himself, he worked at his trade, and engaged 
in fishing. In 1847. with his brother, Zenas 
H., he started in the manufacture of shoes, 
under the firm name of M. S. Litchfield & 
Co., opening a small place, measuring twelve 
by thirteen feet, located at the corner of Cedar 
and Summer Streets, in North Scituate. The 
business increasing with the lapse of time, 
they were frequently obliged to enlarge their 
establishment. At one period they had 



444 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



seventy-five employees, residents of Scituate 
and adjoining towns. The brothers also car- 
ried on a general mercantile trade. In 1885 
Mr. Melvin S. Litchfield retired from the 
manufacturing branch of the business. He re- 
tains his interest in the other department, 
which is still conducted by the original firm. 

Mr. Litchfield has been twice married. By 
his first wife, who was Mrs. Nancy (Ellms) 
Clapp, daughter of Gushing O. Ellms, of 
Scituate, and the widow of Hiram Clapp, he 
has two children. These are: Arthur E. , re- 
siding in Brockton, Mass., and Ella G., the 
wife of G. H. Waterman, of the same city. 
The present Mrs. Litchfield was formerly Mrs. 
Maria (Read) Elliot, the widow of Lyman 
F. Elliot, and a daughter of Leonard Read 
(deceased), of Mason, N.H. Mr. Litchfield 
has no children by his second union. In pol- 
itics he favors the Republican side. Both he 
and Mrs. Litchfield take an active part in the 
social events of the town, and are very popular 
members of society. 




ILLIAM F. BONNEY, who has 
resided for a number of years on a 
pleasant farm on Brant Rock Road, 
a short distance from Marshfield station, is a 
well-informed man, his mind broadened by 
travel and observation. He was born April 
II, 1831, in Hanson, Mass., and his parents, 
too, Gephas and Deborah (Soper) Bonney, 
were natives of that town, the home of his 
family for generations. His grandfather, Na- 
thaniel Bonney, was interested in the iron 
works in the town of Carver, this county. 

Cephas Bonney was an iron moulder, and 
followed his trade during a great part of his 
life, for a short time being engaged in the 
manufacture of castings in Marshfield. In 
politics he was a Democrat, in religious be- 



lief a Methodist. He died in 1S74, his wife, 
in 1889. They were the parents of the follow- 
ing children: Gephas W., now living in 
Ouincy, Mass.; Henry V., in Marshfield; 
William F., the subject of this sketch; Al- 
mira S., living in Kingston, Mass. ; Edward 
H., in Scituate; Mary E., wife of Elisha C. 
Hatch, in Whitman, Mass.; and Deborah P., 
Leroy .S., and Lucius L., deceased. 

William F. Bonney was three years old 
when his parents moved to Marshfield, and he 
here received his education, attending school 
until he reach his fourteenth year. He then 
went to Fall River, Mass., to learn the iron 
moulder's trade, and, after remaining there 
about three years, worked four years at iron 
moulding in Lawrence, Mass. At the time of 
the gold excitement in California, he made up 
his mind to try his luck there, and in 1S52 he 
set out by steamer from New York City to 
Aspinwall, crossed the Isthmus, and took a 
steamer to San Francisco. This was the 
quickest and most direct route of travel at the 
time, and the journey consumed but a month. 
Mr. Bonney found work in the "middle 
mines," and stayed in the diggings three 
years; then, dissatisfied with the uncertainty 
of mining, he found work at his trade in San 
Francisco, and was also engaged for some 
time grading building lots. He remained in 
California about five years, returning then by 
the route he had taken in going thither. In 
1857 he started from Marshfield with a photo- 
graph car, and visited the towns in South- 
eastern Massachusetts. Quite successful as a 
photographer, he followed that line of busi- 
ness for si.xteen years. In 1875, weary of 
constant travel, he settled on his farm on 
Brant Rock Road, and since that time has 
found pleasure and independence in the pur- 
suit of agriculture. 

Mr. Bonney was married in 1S62 to Mary 





JOHN S. RYDER. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



447 



T. Dunhani, who died in August, 1870, leav- 
ing one son, Wilfred, born December 27, 1S67, 
now residing in yMiington, Mass. The maiden 
name of Mr. lionney's second wife, with 
whom he was united on December 20, 1874, 
was Mary L. Gray. She died in 1892, leav- 
ing four children, namely: Frances, born Jan- 
uary 19, 1879; Josephine, December 6, 1879; 
Helen M., .September 4, 1881 — all living at 
present; and Anna G., May 11, 1885, who 
died October 4, 1892. In politics Mr. 
Bonney is independent, making a practice of 
voting for the candidates best qualified for 
office. 

-OIIN S. RYDER is one of the old, in- 
fluential, and highly respected citizens 
of Rochester, Mass., having taken a 
leading part in town and church affairs for 
many years. Me was born in Rochester, 
March i, 1822, and is the only surviving son 
of the late Martin and Content (Stevens) 
Ryder, both of this town. His father, who 
was a well-to-do farmer, died December 18, 
1883, his mother, on February 18, 1881. 
They reared but two children: John S., sub- 
ject of the sketch; and Martin L., now de- 
ceased. 

John S. Ryder acquired a good education in 
his early years, finishing his school days at 
Rochester Academy, and began to teach at the 
age of nineteen. He was engaged in teaching 
during the winter, and in farm work during 
the summer from 1841 to 1849, and for several 
years thereafter he devoted himself to farming 
and stone-mason work. Though he began to 
provide for himself when he was twenty-one 
years of age, he did not leave his parents until 
he was twenty-six. About the beginning of 
1849 he moved to his present farm, a good es- 
tate of twenty-five acres, and here for nearly 
half a centurv he has followed the sea- 



sons, sowing and reaping in seed-time and 
harvest. 

Mr. Ryder was married December 13, 1S4.S, 
to Betsey M. King, of Rochester. One child 
was born to them, a daughter, Julia A., who 
died at the age of .seventeen. 

Mr. Ryder takes an active interest in ])oli- 
tics, and has been elected on the Republican 
ticket to a number of offices. He was in the 
State legislature in 1875, 'i'"' 'i''^ served on 
the Town Board of Selectmen one year, as 
Town Treasurer si.\ years, Town Clerk four- 
teen years. Justice of the Peace seven years, 
and as School Committee six years. He has 
been a member of the Congregational church 
in Rochester since 1840, and served the .so- 
ciety as clerk for thirty years, and as Deacon 
five years. 

APTAIN JASON L. BRALKY, a 
retired mariner, now successfully en- 
gaged in strawberry culture and 
general farming in Rochester, was born Octo- 
ber 3, 1824, in the town of Acushnet, Bristol 
County, son of Elisha K. and Delia (Sher- 
man) Braley. He was two weeks old when 
the family came to Rochester, where he was 
reared and educated. He went on his first 
deep-sea voyage when sixteen years of age, 
shipping as a seaman on the brig "Solon," a 
whaling ves.sel which was out fourteen months, 
cruising in the Atlantic Ocean. His next 
voyage was made on the bark "Willis" from 
Mattapoisett, leaving port as a seaman, and 
coming back as boat stecrer. This vessel was 
out sixteen months, and sailed over the same 
waters. His third shipment was as boat 
steerer of the bark "Newton," which was out 
twenty months. Leaving this vessel at the 
Sandwich Islands, he engaged as boat steerer 
on the ship "Crown I'rincessen," with which 
he was connected about twenty-two months. 




448 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



His next berth was that of third mate of the 
"Stephina, " on a cruise lasting thirty-two 
months in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. 
He was subsequently mate of the "Louisa" 
while twenty-eight months from home, hunt- 
ing whales in the North Pacific. Next, he 
was master of the ship "William Badger," on 
a voyage of forty-six months, most of which 
time was spent in the whaling-grounds of the 
North Pacific. After the return of the "Will- 
iam Badger," he left port again as mate of the 
"Falcon," which made a voyage of twenty-six 
months, cruising in the North Atlantic. When 
the " Falcon " was out fourteen months Mate 
Braley was made its captain. His last cruise 
was as mate of the "Vineyard." The "Vine- 
yard " had been out about eighteen months when 
he was injured by having a cask fall upon him, 
and returned home by the Nicaragua route. 

Captain Braley now abandoned seafaring, 
having followed it for thirty-three years, en- 
during the rigors of high latitudes, the enervat- 
ing heat of the tropics, and coming scathless 
out of a thousand perils. In 1873 he pur- 
chased a farm in Rochester, containing one 
hundred and fifty-five acres of good land. 
Here he has since spent his life, finding both 
profit and pleasure in general farming and 
strawberry culture. He was married in 1850 
to Miss Hannah M. Hall, and now has four 
children — Ellen M., Sylvanus A., Henry W., 
and Fred J. In politics he supports the Re- 
publican party. He is a member of the 
Masonic order, belonging to St. Helena 
Lodge, of St. Helena. 



ZRO TURNER, a prominent resident 
jf North Scituate, and the owner of 
one of the handsomest homes on the 
beach, was born March 15, 1852, in Boston, 
Mass., son of Job A. and Elmira (Fellows) 




Turner. His ancestor, Humphrey Turner, 
was one of the men from Kent, England, who 
settled in Scituate in 1628. Humphrey, who 
was an enterprising man, established a tan- 
nery here in 1636. Besides his home, which 
was on Kent Street, on the east side of Cole- 
man's Hills, he owned a tract of land on the 
North River. 

Colonel John Bryant Turner, Azro Turner's 
grandfather, was born in Scituate, December 
8, 1786. His parents were Job and Abiel 
(Bryant) Turner, both natives of Scituate. 
He spent his early life on his father's farm at 
Farm Neck, receiving a good education and 
fitting for college, though he did not subse- 
quently take a college course. Drawn into 
public life while yet a young man, he became 
a leader in Old Colony politics, was a pioneer 
of the Anti-slavery party, and a strong advo- 
cate of Prohibition, then just beginning to be 
agitated. An untiring and honest worker, 
and unswerving in his determination to do 
right, he was respected alike by Whigs and 
Democrats. Early in his career he was 
chosen Moderator of the Scituate town 
meetings, and it is said of him that no 
one has filled the office who wielded the 
gavel with more dignity or fairness. From 
that time forward "Colonel Bry," or "Squire 
Bry," as he was popularly called, was con- 
stantly in the public service. He was for a 
number of years Selectman of Scituate. In 
the office of County Commissioner, which he 
filled for several years, he gave valuable aid 
in the construction of many important public 
works, besides directing the locating of the 
first railroads. In 1830 he was surprised to 
find himself nominated on the Democratic- 
Republican ticket as Representative- to the 
Twenty-third Congress; but John Ouincy 
Adams, for whom the Colonel entertained the 
deepest respect and warmest friendship, was 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4 49 



also a luiniincc, and Colonel Turner withdrew 
in his favor. Colonel liry was a conspicu- 
ous figure in the General Couft of Massachu- 
setts, serving for years in both the House 
anil the Senate. Having begun his military 
career tis a coast guard in 1812, he rose to 
the rank of Colonel of the Second Infantry. 
The sword whch he wore is now in the pos- 
session of his grandson, Azro. Colonel Tur- 
ner was a leading spirit in all movements 
for the betterment of the town. He was in 
constant request as arbitrator in the settle- 
ment of differences among his townsmen. 
He spoke and wrote with firmness, mingled 
with gentleness, and with a due regard for the 
opinions and failings of others. A Univer- 
salist in religious belief, his writings prove 
that he was a diligent student of theology. 
He died February 16, 1849, '" '^'s sixty-third 
year. Colonel Turner was married in 1813 
to Miss Hannah Nichols, of Cohasset, Mass. 
His son, Job A. Turner, was born in Scituate, 
and there acquired his early education. 
When he was si.xteen years old he went to 
Boston to learn the trade of carpenter and 
joiner. This accomplished, he worked for 
some time as a journeyman, and then estab- 
lished himself in business as a contractor 
and builder. He was subsequently identified 
with the Bay State Brick Company at Med- 
ford, Mass., and at a later period was treas- 
urer of the George I-". Blake Manufacturing 
Company of Boston. His death occurred in 
Newton, Mass., on Marcli 12, iSSf). He was 
married twice, and had a large family. Of 
his children, five are living, namely: Fred- 
erick A., residing in l^oston ; Kdward C, in 
Arlington, Mass.; Azro, the subject of this 
sketch; Albion B., in Newton; and Carrie 
H., the wife of George F. Blake, Jr., resid- 
ing in Worcester, Mass. 

After acquiring his early education in Scit- 



uate, Azro Turner attended the Highland Mil- 
itary Academy at Worcester. Since attaining 
man's estate he has been extensively engaged 
in agricultural pursuits, at the same time tak- 
ing a prominent part in town matters. In 
politics he is an Independent, with a leaning 
to the Republican side. He served for four 
years on the Scituate Board of Selectmen, and 
is one of the most influential men of the 
place. An Odd l-'ellow, in good standing, he 
belongs to Cohasset Lodge, No. 192. On 
November 27, 1872, he was united in mar- 
riage with Georgietta F"rances Litchfield, of 
Scituate, and the union has been blessed with 
six children. These are: Alfred F. , born 
November 3, 1873: I'hilip H., born August 
29, 1876; Azro, born December 13, 1879; 
Edith A., born March 13, 18S3; Vesta M., 
born November 37, 1885; and Cora M., born 
April 23, 18S9. 




RTIRM^ P. STARRKTT, the efficient 
foreman of the W. L. Douglas Shoe 
l-'actory of Brockton, was born in 
Aylesford, Nova Scotia, August 20, 1851, son 
of George and Phccbe (Johnston) Starrett. 
He is a descendant of Peter Starrett, who was 
born in Scotland about the year 1700, and, it 
is believed, emigrated to Ireland about 1730. 
From there the family came to America, set- 
tling in Maine, on or near the site of the pres- 
ent city of Portland. When the Revolution- 
ary War broke out, this branch of the Starrett 
family was so intensely loyal to the British 
crown that they emigrated again, this time to 
Canada, settling in Nova Scotia, near the New 
Brunswick line. Peter Starrett married 
Flevena Armstrong. Their son John, born 
in 1745, married Hannah Bancroft. He died 
October 4, 1829. Handley Starrett, son of 
John and Hannah Bancroft Starrett, and 



45° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



grandfather of Arthur P., was born in Cum- 
berland County, Nova Scotia, in 1793- 
About 1840 he moved to Port Williams, 
Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, where he 
owned and conducted a mill. He also held 
the office of Prime Magistrate. He subse-' 
quently moved to Cambridge, Hants County. 
He and his wife had seven children, four 
boys and three girls, namely: William, now 
living at Port Lome, Annapolis County, Nova 
Scotia; George, father of the subject of this 
sketch; John and James, now living in Cam- 
bridge, Hants County, Nova Scotia; Eliza- 
beth, who died in Lynn, Mass., in 1896; 
Jennie, now living in Lynn, Mass. ; and 
Amanda, who resides in Cambridge, Nova 
Scotia. 

George Starrett, father of Arthur, was born 
in 1818. When a young man he began to 
learn the trade of a ship-builder, but he had 
not been thus engaged long when he met with 
an accident in the ship-yard, that disqualified 
him from following that occupation. He 
then, by a course of hard study, fitted himself 
for the profession of a school teacher, which 
he followed in different counties in Nova 
Scotia for upward of twenty years. While re- 
siding in Port Williams he married Phcebe 
Johnston, daughter of Uriah and Mariah John- 
ston; and after his marriage he settled in 
Aylesford, Annapolis County. His wife died 
in 1S84, at the age of sixty-six years, and he 
then removed to his farm at Port Lome, 
where he spent his remaining days, making 
occasional visits to his children in Brockton. 
He survived his wife ten years, dying in 1894. 
His children are: Arthur P., Charles A., 
Annie M. (deceased), Edith J., Bertha, and 
Ella. 

Arthur P. Starrett was but two years old 
when his parents moved to Port Williams, and 
his boyhood was spent in that place. Besides 



attending the common school he had the ben- 
efit of private instruction from his father. 
At the age of seventeen he left home, and 
shipped on a merchant vessel bound for the 
West Indies; and he was out in the famous 
September gale of 1868. Two years there- 
after he came to Massachusetts, settling in 
Lynn, where he learned the carpenter's trade. 
In the fall of 1872 he came to Brockton; and 
the next year, while working for Barney Snow, 
a contractor, he fell from the roof of a five- 
story building, breaking his ankle. He then 
abandoned his trade, going into the factory of 
Peleg S. Leach to learn stitching. Three 
years later he entered the shoe factory of 
Daniel S. Howard, where also he remained 
three years, subsequently continuing in the 
same employment with J. C. Jenkins. In 
February, 1881, he took charge of the stitch- 
ing-room of W. L. Douglas & Co., with whom 
he has since remained. 

On February 4, 1872, Mr. Starrett was 
united in marriage with Lelah A. Banks, a 
daughter of Joseph and Mehitable Banks, of 
Port Lome, Nova Scotia. He has three chil- 
dren — Jennie F., Charles E. ; and Lena. 
Jennie F., now a young lady of twenty-two 
years, is a graduate of the Brockton High 
School, and resides at home; Charles E. is 
employed in the factory under his father; 
Lena, a girl of twelve years, is attending 
school. In politics Mr. Starrett is a Repub- 
lican; and he represents his ward in the Com- 
mon Council. He is connected with several 
fraternal organizations, being a member of 
Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows; Nemasket Encampment, No. 
44; and Beatrice Lodge, No. 28, Daughters of 
Rebecca, in each of which he has passed all 
the chairs. He and his wife are also mem- 
bers of Brockton Colony, No. 138, Pilgrim 
Fathers. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4.11 




'RANCIS BARNARD GARDNER, 
clerk of the Hoard of Water Commis- 
sioners, and Overseer of the Poor of 
Hrockton, Mass., is a native of Nantucket, 
and a worthy representative of one of the old 
and miicii respected families of that long-time 
■famous island home, lie was born near the 
close of the first half of the century, January 
I, 1845. 

His grandfather, Prince Gardner, a large 
ship-owner, was engaged in the whale fishery, 
and in the (ill and tallow business. In re- 
ligious persuasion he was a Quaker or member 
of the^ Society of Friends, as were many of 
the inhabitants of Nantucket fifty years ago or 
more, the island, as is well known, having 
been at an early day a refuge for the oppressed 
of that form of faith. Prince Gardner was 
one of those who occupied the high seats in 
tiie meeting, and used sometimes to preach. 
He died at seventy-two years of age. His 
wife, Mary Gorham, a Quakeress, whom he 
married in 1802, attained the advanced age of 
ninety-two years. They had but three chil- 
dren ; namely, Charles G. and two daughters. 

Charles G. Gardner, the only son, was the 
eldest child. He was born in 1807. The 
people of Nantucket may be said to have held 
at an early day advanced views on the subject 
of education, seeking for their children, if 
possible, something beyond common-school in- 
struction. The Quaker born and bred youth, 
Charles G. Gardner, puruscd his studies at 
Greenwich Academy, l^ast Greenwich, R.I., 
and later at a I-'riends' boarding-school in 
Providence. When his school days were 
over, he learned the cooper's trade, and made 
casks for his father. Of course, they were to 
hold whale oil, the whale fishery being then 
the leading industry of the place, and a profit- 
able one on the whole, although hazardous. 
There were losses peculiar to the "war time" 



of the early ])art of the century, and Prince 
Gardner and his brother Hcnjamin, who lost 
the ship "Johanna," of which they were joint 
owners, came in for a share of the P'rench 
spoliation claiims, of which but little was real- 
ized. Mr. Gardner, of Prockton, still ha^ in 
his possession several articles received by his 
grandfather and uncle by way of indemnity, 
which he cherishes as memorials of the olden 
time, a turned-over page of the family hi.story. 
In the latter part of his life Mr. Charles G. 
Gardner attended the North Congregational 
Church of Nantucket. He died at the age of 
eighty-five years. He was a Whig during the 
existence of that party, afterward a Republi- 
can, and always a thorough-going Abolition- 
ist. He married Lurana Rogers, daughter of 
John Rogers. Her father was the mate of a 
whaling vessel. He lost his life in sight of 
land in Massachusetts Bay, while lashed to 
the rigging of a vessel during a storm. Mr. 
and Mrs. Charles G. Gardner had ten chil- 
dren, only three of whom are now living. 

Francis B. was the ninth child of his par- 
ents. He was educated in the schools of 
Nantucket, which were then graded. Making 
good progress in the lower schools, he entered 
the high .school at thirteen years of age. He 
subsequently attended the CoflRn private 
school for a time; and then, a well-grown 
youth and well informed for his years, he 
learned the art of pegging shoes, and followed 
that occupation for some time. In November, 
1862, he went to West Ikidgewater, and en- 
tered the employ of Charles Mowry, engaging 
to work for ten dollars a month and board. 
He stayed there till September, 1863, when 
he came to Brockton, where he worked on 
army brogans at twenty dollars per month and 
board. In April, 1864, he went into the shop 
of George H. Gurney, shoe manufacturer, and, 
learning to cut leather, earned twelve and 



452 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



one-half cents an hour. He there worked 
three years as a cutter, and six years as super- 
intendent of the factory, fifteen hundred dol- 
lars being his salary in his final year, ending 
November, 1872. At that time forming a co- 
partnership with R. ]^. Packard, firm of Gard- 
ner & Packard, he made his first trip to Bos- 
ton to carry samples the week after the great 
Boston fire. They had a factory on Centre 
Street, Brockton, where O. O. Patten & Co. 
now are. In 1878 the firm dissolved, and Mr. 
Gardner continued in business alone, buying 
a factory on Linden Street, known as the 
David Howard factory, now owned by F. M. 
Shaw & Son. He carried it on till January, 
1882, when he sokl it to Henry Mitchell. 
The business is now owned by Howard & 
Foster. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Gardner took a prominent part 
in the movement to make Brockton a city. 
At the town meeting he was elected one of the 
Committee of Twelve to co-operate with the 
Selectmen in securing the charter, which was 
accepted as they submitted it. He had for 
one or two years previously been Chairman of 
the Republican Town Committee, and he was 
later on the same committee two or three years. 
He was one of the committee to make arrange- 
ments for the inauguration of the city govern- 
ment, and was elected to the Common Council 
of the city, but resigned his position on the 
Council without taking his seat. He was a 
member of the Board of Overseers of the Poor 
for three years, after having refused the office 
for one year. He is now serving on his fif- 
teenth year in this responsible position, hav- 
ing: been elected five successive terms. In 
1882 Mayor Keith appointed him on the Board 
of Health. Mr. Gardner had no intention of 
remaining in public office, and in the autumn 
of 1883 resolved to go again into business, 
but he was so strongly urged to accept a posi- 



tion on the Board of Water Commissioners 
that he did so, and has now served the Board 
twelve successive years. In January last he 
received one vote from the Council, which rep- 
resented the unanimous vote; in other words, 
he was elected by acclamation. 

Mr. Gardner is a charter member of Dam- 
ocles Lodge, No. 16, Knights of Pythias, was 
its first Chancellor Commander, and is now 
Chairman of the Finance Committee of Grand 
Lodge, which post he has filled for six years. 
He was last year appointed for three years 
more as a member of the Finance Committee. 
He was a charter member of Banner Lodge, 
New England Order of Protection; and as its 
first warden he wrote his signature to three 
hundred and sixteen certificates of member- 
ship. As a pioneer in Brockton of the no- 
license movement, he has occupied several 
positions on the committee, and has taken an 
ardent and active interest in temperance. He 
is a member of the Brockton Agricultural So- 
ciety, and has been superintendent of its hall 
for about eight years. A loyal American cit- 
izen, he is an associate member of Fletcher 
Webster Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the 
Republic, of Brockton. Of the charter of 
the People's Savings Bank of Brockton he 
was one of the original signers, and he is a 
Trustee of the bank, and one of its Investment 
Committee. He is a communicant of the 
First Congregational Church, and was at one 
time clerk of the church and a member of the 
Parish Committee. He is now on the Build- 
ing Committee for the new church edifice. 

Mr. Gardner and Miss Emma Davis, daugh- 
ter of John W. Davis, of Nantucket, were 
married in October, 1866, and five years ago 
they celebrated their silver wedding, or 
twenty-fifth anniversary. Among the presents 
received on that occasion, as testimonials of 
the esteem and good will of neiiihbors and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



453 



friends, were a case of silver from the city 
goveriinient of IJrockton, antl a silver service 
from Hamier Lodge, Knights of Pythias. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gardner have three children, namely: 
Annie L., who married luhvard !•;. Stcbbins, 
and resides in Melrose, Mass.; Gertrude E., 
an assistant in the Water Commissioner's 
office. City Hall; and Charles F., now a stu- 
dent at the Brockton High Schot)!. 



TT^Al'TAIN GKORGK D. ALLEN, who 
( Vp has been on duty much of the time in 

V ^ recent years as the commander of a 

great ocean steamer, is well equipped for the 
responsible post he occupies, being a type of 
the thorough American sailor, a brave, reso- 
lute man, with a cool head and a keen eye. 
He was born October 28, 1843, in Marion, a 
.son of John D. and Sarah N. (Hathaway) 
Allen. His parents reared two other chil- 
dren, both daughters, namely : Abbie, who 
died in 1882; and Louisa. 

George D. Allen was educated in the dis- 
trict schools, and laid aside his text-books, 
when a lad of fourteen, to go on board a coast- 
ing-vessel, on which he remained three years 
as a sailor. Shipping then on a merchant 
vessel, he visited various portions of the 
globe, including California, China, and Aus- 
tralia, sailing one year as common seaman, 
two years as second mate, four years as first 
mate, and from that time until the present as 
master. Captain Allen has followed the sea 
nearly forty yeans, has commanded vessels 
twenty-eight years, and at different periods 
during the last eight years has been in charge 
of an ocean steamer. During his career he 
has circumnavigated the globe twice, been 
around the Cape of Good Hope three times, 
and doubled Cape Horn six times, in most 
cases having an interest in the ships that he 



has commanded. He has been unusually fort- 
unate in his voyages, although at one time his 
ship was struck by a hurricane, and totally 
demolished. The vessel was on its way from 
New Orleans to Liverpool, being about sixty 
miles from the mouth of the Mississippi 
River, in the Gulf of Mexico, when struck by 
the tremendous gale. 'I'lie timber with which 
it was loaded kept the hull from sinking, and 
the entire crew Hoated on the wreck thirty-six 
hours before being rescued. 

Captain Allen was married May 8, 1869, to 
Magdalana S., daughter of Captain Clark 
Delano. Eight children have been born of 
this union, namely: Elmena Stover, who died 
when five years old; Bertha Bolivia, who was 
born off the coast of Bolivia; Clara B. ; John 
C, born off Cape Horn; Sarah D., who died 
December 13, 1880; James Scott Hathaway, 
born on board ship at Liverpool, England; 
Florence Souter; and Abbie L. , who died in 
infancy. Soon after his marriage the captain 
bought the farm of forty acres on which he and 
his family make their home. Captain Allen 
is held in high regard as a man of great force 
of character and moral worth. In politics he 
is a strong advocate of the principles of the 
Republican party. 




AHU;\I F. MORSE, Selectman of 
Rochester for more than twenty years, 
was born May 19, 1835, on the 
farm where he now resides, son of John N. and 
Lydia (Look) Morse. This farm was origi- 
nally owned by his grandfather, Simeon Morse, 
who served as a soldier in the Revolution and 
was one of the early settlers of this locality. 
John N. Morse was a large land-owner, and 
one of the prominent men of the district. He 
had a family of eleven children; namely, John 
O. A., James H., Savcry A., Mary A., Lydia, 



454 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



David, Isaac, Tirzah I., Nahum F., Naomi, 
and Charlotte H. ; 

Nahum F. Morse acquired his education in 
the district school and the old Peirce Acad- 
emy of Middleboro. In boyhood he became 
familiar with the duties of farm life, and, 
when he was twenty-six years old, he took full 
charge of the homestead. The farm covers 
two hundred acres in Middleboro and Roch- 
ester, including good tillage and pasture 
land. His whole life has been spent there. 
He has been successful as a farmer, keeps 
some live stock, and raises some fruit. He 
was married in 1857 to Almeda I. WashburU) 
of Carver, this county; and eight children 
came of the union. Two are deceased — 
Jennie F. and Nahum F. The others are: 
Lottie H., Annie G., Isaac F., Tirzah S., 
Chester B. , and Helen B. 

Mr. Morse, who is a Democrat, has been 
for many years identified with the adjustment 
of town affairs, his conservative judgment and 
practical common sense being highly valued 
by his townsmen. He has served as Select- 
man of the town altogether for twenty-two 
years. In this period he has also acted as 
Overseer of the Poor, Assessor, and Town 
Agent ; and he has been a Justice of the 
Peace for fifteen years. He is a Mason in 
good standing, belonging to Social Harmony 
Lodge of Wareham, Mass. As a member of 
the Christian Advent church, he takes an ac- 
tive interest in religious work. 




)YSANDER S. RICHARDS, a horticul- 
turist and author and a leader in various 
reformatory and progressive move- 
ments, is a resident of Marshfield Hills. He 
was born in Quincy, Mass., April 13, 1S35, a 
son of the Hon. Lysander and Content C. 
(Clapp) Richards. ~The Richards family is of 



English origin, the American branch springing 
from an emigrant who settled in what is now 
Norwell, Mass., in 1630. 

The Hon. Lysander Richards, who was a 
son of Nchemiah Richards, was born and 
reared in Cummington, Mass. After teaching 
school for a while, he went to Quincy, Mass., 
where he was interested in the quarries, event- 
ually becoming a member of the house of 
Richards, Munn & Co., the largest stone con- 
tractors in Quincy, and probably in the United 
States, in their day. Mr. Richards attained 
eminence in business circles, and had many 
financial interests. He was the first President 
of the Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany. A prominent member of the Whig 
party, he served one term as State Senator. 
He was a member of the Quincy School Board 
for a number of years, and one of the prime 
movers in establishing the high school. In 
religious belief he was a Unitarian. Pie had 
an extended acquaintance in Norfolk County, 
and was respected by all who knew him. He 
died in 1S51 at Havana, Cuba, where he had 
gone for his health. His wife was also a mem- 
ber of an old family of English origin, her first 
ancestor in this country settling in Scituate in 
1630. She passed away in 1893. Of their 
children the following are living: Lysander 
S. , the subject of this article; Louise C. , 
clerk in the United States Life-saving Service 
Department in the Treasury Building, Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; Venelia, wife of Charles W. 
Calef, of Auburn, N.H. ; Charles N. , keeper 
of the Senate Stationery Department at Wash- 
ington; Clara, also in the national capital; 
Anna S., wife of T. Butler Van Alstyne, a 
lawyer of Tustin, Cal., ajipointed by Governor 
Budd President of the Board of Trustees of the 
Southern California Insane Asylum near Los 
Angeles, Cal. 

Lysander S. Richards acquired his early 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



455 



education in tlic Oiiincy schools, jiassing 
through the grammar grade, and leaving school 
at the age of fifteen. lie was sixteen when 
his father died, and in the two years following 
that event was acting Postmaster in Ouincy. 

At the age of eighteen he obtained a |)osi- 
tion as book-keeper for Williams & Rodgers, 
hitle and leather merchants in 15oston ; and 
after the: dissolution of that firm he was cm- 
ployed as book-keeper for Rodgers, Johnson & 
Thompson, lioston. At twenty-two he was the 
junior member of the hide and leather firm of 
Rodgers, Baxter & Richards, which was sub- 
sequently merged into Rodgers, Richards & 
Co. This house controlled an extensive busi- 
ness, amounting to between two hundred thou- 
sand and three hundred thousand dollars per 
year, and was in existence about seven years. 
Soon after the [xutnership was dissolved Mr. 
Richards became a member of the hide and 
leather firm of Charles Marsh & Co., of Bos- 
ton, one of the leading mercantile houses of 
the flub. The Hon. Charles Marsh (now 
deceased), the head of the firm, was President 
of the Granite National l^ank and of the 
Ouincy Savings Bank, and was a State Sena- 
tor. He retired from business in 1874; and 
Mr. l^ichards, who was suffering from ill- 
health, severed his connection with the firm 
at the same time. 

For a number of years Mr. Richards had 
been engaged in scientific study and research, 
and had written various articles, including a 
treatise on cosmography, which was published 
in the Boston Banner of Light, running about 
two years in the seventies. On retiring from 
business, he took the opportunity to visit the 
gold and silver mines of California and Ne- 
vada, in order to supplement the knowledge 
gained from books by actual observation ; and 
before he returneil home he studied the miner- 
alogy of the coal mines of Pennsylvania. It is 



an incident worthy of note that Mr. McKinJey, 
brother of President McKinlcy, entertained 
Mr. Richards in California, and afterward 
came on to Ouincy, and made him an offer to 
go on to California, and, as an ex])ert, exam- 
ine some mines in which he was interested. 

After his return front this tour Mr. Richards 
devoted much of his time to literary work, 
publishing scientific and philosophical papers, 
as well as a series of articles on his travels in 
California and the Far West, including Utah, 
in the Boston Cotnnionwcalt/t. In the fall of 
1874 he settled in Marshfield, moving into his 
present dwelling, which he erected in 1.S76. 
Here his most important literary works have 
been completed. Among these arc "The 
Beginning and Knd of Man"; "Vocophy"; 
and "Breaking up; or. The Birth, Develop- 
ment, and Death of the Farth and its Satel- 
lite in Story." Mr. Richards taught sciences 
and other branches of study for a year in a 
school in Washington, D. C. , and for four 
years had charge of the Marshfield Business 
Academy, of which he was the founder. 
During the season of 1866-67 he presided at 
the Music Hall (Boston) Sunday afternoon 
lectures. Previous to 1S74 he lectured on 
scientific subjects before the high and gram- 
mar schools of Ouincy, his topics including 
Darwinism, Astronomy, and Geology. He 
has also studied carefully the science of agri- 
culture and horticulture, and has given many 
addresses at farmers' meetings in Boston. He 
has been Vice-President of the Marshfield 
Agricultural and Horticultural Society, and was 
for three years a member of the State Board 
of Agriculture. 

Mr. Richards has been for a numi)er of 
years Secretary of the Marshfield Republi- 
can Committee, of which he is now chairman, 
and has served as Chairman at conventions, 
caucuses, and town meetings. At a meeting 



4S6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the Second Plymouth District Republi- 
can Committee, comprising the towns of 
Duxbury, Pembroke, Norwell, Scituate, and 
Marshfield, he was elected Chairman for the 
ensuing year, 1896-97; but he refuses perma- 
nent jDublic office, preferring the quiet of his 
home. He is deeply interested in the prog- 
ress of the town, and was instrumental in 
changing the name Elast Marshfield to Marsh- 
field Hills, which is much more appropriate, 
and gives an outsider an idea of the distin- 
guishing natural feature of the place. Mr. 
Richards is the President of the Marshfield 
Plills Public Library. He was vested with 
the authority of Justice of the Peace for 
twenty-one years. 

Previous to 1866 he was often called upon 
to preside at conventions in the large halls of 
Boston ; and he was the leader of the temper- 
ance movement in Ouincy before the advent 
of Henry H. Faxon. He was President of the 
Massachusetts Radical Peace Society, and was 
the first Corresponding Secretary of the Uni- 
versal Peace Society, with headquarters at 
Philadelphia. In his early manhood, while 
living in Quincy, he was President of the 
Adams Literary Association, President of the 
Ouincy Charitable Society, and superinten- 
dent of the Unitarian Sunday-school at Adams 
Temple, the famous church of John and John 
Quincy Adams. Mr. Richards is now con- 
nected with the Unitarian church in Marsh- 
field. He is still an enthusiastic student ; and, 
being sent in 1891 by the Eastern heirs of a 
bachelor uncle who had lived in California, to 
investigate his affairs, he took occasion to visit 
southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, 
and Texas, travelling through the Southern 
States and studying the natural features of 
the country. 

Mr. Richards was married in 1859 to 
Miriam G. Rodgers, of Ouincy, Mass. Three 



children have blessed their union : Clift R. 
(deceased) ; Eleanor R., artist, who has charge 
of the art department of the Edgeworth School 
at Baltimore, Md. ; and C. Rodgers, a graduate 
of Boston University, at present employed in 
looking up titles in the Indian Bureau, under 
the Department of the Interior, of the United 
States srovernment. 



OHN FOSTER, a box manufacturer and 
lumber and real estate dealer residing 
in South Hanson, Plymouth County, 
is a native of Pembroke, Mass., where he was 
born, March 12, 1842, son of David H. and 
Deborah (Howland) Foster. On both sides 
he is descended from early Plymouth colo- 
nists, who were passengers in the "Mayflower." 
David F"oster, father of David H., was a pa- 
triot soldier in the War of 18 12, and was 
killed in service, his head being shot off. 
David H. Foster was born in Scituate, Mass., 
in 1799. He followed the trade of a ship 
carpenter. He and his wife, Deborah, who 
was a daughter of Luther Howland, of Pem- 
broke, had seven sons; namely, Horace J., 
Jairus H., Jared Perkins, Hiram, Charles (de- 
ceased), Otis, and John. David H. Foster 
died when about eighty-two years old; and his 
wife died in January, 1S96, at the age of 
ninety-one years, five months. Both parents 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

John was the youngest born of the family. 
He acquired his education in the district 
school, and in his boyhood was also initiated 
into the work of the home farm, the care of 
which, owing to his father's being so much 
occupied with ship carpentry, and his mother 
being in feeble health, early devolved upon 
him. When twenty-two years old, he began 
buying tracts of timbered land, which he 



i^' 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



459 



cleared, and hired the lumber sawed. As his 
business increased, he bouglit a water-power 
saw-mill in l'enil)r(>ke in 1874, and shortly 
after added a {^rist-mill and box factory to the 
plant. Five years later he purchased of Bar- 
nabas l'>erson his steam-mill at South Hanson, 
enlarged it, ami built a grist-mill, then trans- 
ferred bis IVmbroke grist-mill, excelsior mill, 
and box factory to South Hanson, still, how- 
ever, running his saw-mill at Pembroke. A 
year or two later the entire plant at South 
Hanson was burned to the ground. Rebuild- 
ing on a better plan, he did a thriving busi- 
ness until in DecemJjer, i8go, the plant was 
again destroyed by fire. He then immediately 
put up another set of buildings after the same 
plan on a much larger scale. When he started, 
he employed but three or four men, but now 
has about seventy-five on an average. He 
handles about five million feet of lumber a 
year, and keeps a full line of building mate- 
rials, being the principal dealer within a radius 
of several miles. He also runs a cooperage 
shop for the manufacture of cranberry barrels, 
supplying the cranberry-growers in this section 
of the State. 

Mr. Foster is also extensively engaged in 
the real estate business, being one of the larg- 
est real estate owners in this town, also the 
largest tax-payer, anil having much property 
outside the town. During the past five years 
he has sold over fifty farms and hundreds of 
house lots. He is the sole owner of three land 
companies, besides being the principal owner 
of several others. In company with Horace 
H. Maglatblin, under the firm name of the 
Webster I'ark Land Company, he is develop- 
ing a large tract of beach property in Marsh- 
field, building houses and otherwise improv- 
ing the property. He owns forty acres of 
cranberry land, anil is interested in many 
other bogs. All his operations have been 



characterized by great energy and business 
sagacity, and from a humble beginning he has 
risen to be one of the leading business 111. n >>( 
the county. 

On October 6, 1868, Mr. Foster married 
Mary F., daughter of Klbridge G. Fuller, of 
Halifax, Mass. Mr.s. Foster is also descended 
1)11 both sides finni some of the original set- 
tlers of Plymouth. Two sons were born to 
them; namely, lidgar M. and Elewyn N., both 
now deceased. In 1867 Mr. Foster became a 
member of Corner Stone Lodge, A. I<\ & 
A. M., of Duxbury, from which he was de- 
mitted to Phienix Lodge of Hanover. He 
and his wife attend the Congregational church. 




^^'-'^'MLLIAM PP:RKINS is a representa- 
JS\I tive of two of the old families of 
Plympton. A son of William and 
Sophia Perkins, he was born FY-bruary 23, 
1824, upon his present farm, which has been 
held in the Perkins name for nearly two cent- 
uries. His father was a son of Zephaniah Per- 
kins, who was a son of Deacon Josiah Per- 
kins, who served as Town Clerk of I'lympton 
forty years. Deacon Josiah Perkins was a 
son of Luke Perkins, who was born in 1666, 
moved from Ipswich and settled in Plympton 
in I 71 3, and died in 174S. Luke Perkins was 
the ancestor of nearly all — if not all — who 
bear the Perkins name in Plymouth County. 
He was the first blacksmith to settle in Plymp- 
ton; and it is worthy of noting that many of 
his descendants have been iron workers of one 
kind or another down to the present time. 
There may be no records to siiow who the an- 
cestors of Luke Perkins were, but he was 
probably a son of Abraham Perkins, who lived 
at Hampton, N.H., and a gramlson of John 
Perkins, who is said to have come over with 
Roger Williams in iC)y, removed with John 



460 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Winthrop, Jr., to Ipswich in 1633, repre- 
sented that town in the General Court in 
1636, and died in 1654. On the maternal 
side Mr. Perkins is a direct descendant of 
Governor Bradford. His mother, in maiden- 
hood Sophia Bradford, was a daughter of Cap- 
tain John Bradford, who was a son of Captain 
John 15radford, who was a son of Lieutenant 
Samuel Bradford, who moved from Kingston 
to Plympton some time between the years 
1709 and 1 7 14. Samuel was a son of Major 
John Bradford, who was a son of Major Will- 
iam Bradford, Deputy Governor of Plymouth 
Colony, who was a son of Governor Will- 
iam Bradford, who came over in the " May- 
flower." 

Mr. Perkins has served in the Massachusetts 
legislature, and has had much experience in 
the settlement of estates and in town office. 
In addition to conducting his farm, he and his 
two sons are engaged in the manufacture of 
lumber, and of wooden and paper bo.xes. In 
1850 Mr. Perkins married Ann Jeanette 
Churchill, daughter of Simeon Churchill, of 
Plympton. They have had seven children; 
namely, Laura W., William, Jr., Clara E., 
Josiah, Helen E., Nettie E. , and Charles B. 
Laura W. successively married William L. 
Bonney and Joshua F. Knowles, and has one 
child, Esther W. Bonney; William Perkins, 
Jr., married Ada K. Churcliill, and has one 
child, Gladys Perkins; Clara E. married Fred 
A. Ward, and has one child. Jay A. Ward ; 
Josiah Perkins died young; Helen PI married 
Gilbert W. Shaw, and has one child, Florence 
J. Shaw; Nettie E. married Prince E. Brad- 
ford, and has one daughter. Bertha W. Brad- 
ford ; Charles B. Perkins, the youngest, is still 
unmarried. 

Mr. Perkins was an early convert to temper- 
ance, and has never made use of liquor or 
tobacco. Half a century ago he was a regular 



attendant at the meetings of the Anti-slavery 
Society, and a frecjuent contributor to its 
funds. William Loyd Garrison, Wendell 
Phillips, Abby Kelly P"oster, Parker Pills- 
bury, Lucy Stone, and other of the anti- 
slavery leaders of those early days found shel- 
ter and entertainment at his house. He was 
a member of the Liberty party, the first polit- 
ical party especially organized to oppose the 
slave power. Later he belonged to the Free 
Soil party, and from the advent of the Repub- 
lican party he has been one of its active ad- 
herents. 



WALTER H( 
M.D., a sue 



ORATIO STURGIS, 

successful medical practi- 
tioner of Hull, Plymouth County, 
Mass., was born in Fairfield, Vt., February 
10, 1873, son of Smith V. and Clara B. 
(Wakeman) Sturgis. He is of English ances- 
try, and traces his lineage back to the time of 
William, the Conqueror. 

Turgesius, who was king of Ireland about 
.\.D 800, was undoubtedly a still earlier ances- 
tor. The Sturgis coat-of-arms represents two 
hounds couchant with a barred shield between, 
and underneath the motto, " Prudencia et Con- 
stancia. " The first appearance of the Sturgis 
family in America, it has been said, was "in 
the latter part of the seventeenth century, when 
two brothers settled, the one in Ccnnecticut, 
the other in Massachusetts." It should be 
noted, however, that "Edward Sturgis, Sr., 
the progenitor of the family on Cape Cod," 
was in Charlestown, Mass., in 1634, and set- 
tled in Yarmouth, Barnstable County, in 1639. 
(See Freeman's History of Cape Cod.) From 
Mrs. Schenck's History of Fairfield, Conn., 
we learn that John Sturges settled in that 
town in 1660, in the thirty-seventh year of 
his age. 

Ezra Sturgis, the paternal great-grandfather 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



461 



of Dr. Stiirgis, was born in Old Fairfield, 
Conn., and settled in Fairfield, \'t., where he 
was ])roniinently identified with the church, 
officiating as Deacon for many years. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Gilbert, 
was of a highly respected family. Their son, 
Seth Sturgis, the Doctor's grandfather, who 
was a native of Fairfield, Vt., was a farmer, 
also a carpenter and builder, and was highly 
esteemed in the community. He and his 
wife, Eliza Bearse, of Fairfield, were commu- 
nicants of the Episcopal church in that town. 
Hotb lived to lie quite advanced in years, 
dying at the ages of eighty-two and eighty- 
four, respectively. 

Smith F. Sturgis, their youngest son, was 
born in Fairfield, Vt., where he lived on the 
old homestead. After acquiring his educa- 
tion, he learned tlie trade of carpenter and 
builder, which he followed there for many 
years. In 1893 he came to Hull, and he here 
continues the same enterprise. In politics 
he is a Republican. I'-raternally, he affiliates 
with I. H. Richardson Post, No. 92, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of I-'airfax, Vt. ; and 
he also belongs to Fairfax Lodge, No. 6, 
A. F. & A. M., of Fairfax, Vt. In kS6i he 
enlisted in Company 11, Third Vermont Vol- 
unteer Infantry, as a private, and served three 
years, being wounded at Cold Harbor. He 
married Clara H. Wakeman; and they had two 
children — May R. and Walter Horatio. May 
R. married Alvin J. I'erham, of Fairfax, Vt. ; 
and they now reside in Hull, Mass. They 
have five children, all of whom are now living 
— Genevieve, Helen, Alvin, Clara, and 
Waltera. 

The maternal great-great-grandfather was 
Nathan Lobdell, a native of Greenfield, Conn. 
He engaged extensively in farming. He was 
prominently identifieil with the Episcopal 
church in \'ermont for niany years. Trinity 



Church, Fairfield, having been organized after 
his settlement in that town, and owing much 
to his faithful labors. Many times during 
the early years of the present century he took 
long and arduous journeys on horseback, 
sometimes of more than a hundred miles, part 
of the way being by marked trees, to attend 
the conventions of the diocese to which he 
was a delegate. He counted nothing too 
hard by which he could serve God or his 
fellow-men. 

The maiden name of his wife was Abigail 
Hoyt. She belonged to a noted Connecticut 
family. Isaac Wakeman, the paternal great- 
granilfathcr, was born in Connecticut, and 
married Sarah, daughter of Ezekiel Hradley, 
of Old Fairfield, Conn. The grandfather, 
Horatio Powell Wakeman, who was born in 
Fairfield, Vt., received a liberal education, 
and for many years was a most successful and 
beloved teacher. He inherited a large patri- 
monial estate, to which he added from time 
to time, becoming one of the largest land- 
owners in the vicinity. He ultimately built 
a town residence, to which he retired from ac- 
tive business, and sjient his later years in the 
quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his early 
labors. 

Walter Horatio Sturgis acquired his early 
education at the New Hamjjton Institute, 
Fairfa.x, Vt., and also attended the St. Albans 
High School, subsequently entering the Med- 
ical Dei)artment of the University of \'er- 
mont. In 1895 he was graduated at Baltimore 
Medical College; and in the spring of that 
year he located in Hull, where he commenced 
work, and has gained popularity and a large 
practice, being highly esteemed, both profes- 
sionally and personally. Fraternally, he is 
identified with Commercial Lodge, Knights of 
Pythias, of Boston, and is also a member of 
the Massachusetts Medical Society. 



462 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




FOSTER PEIRCE, a leading farmer 
of Scituate, was born here, July i, 
1827, son of Elijah and Lucy (Nash) 
Peircc, both also natives of the town. He is 
of the seventh generation descended from 
Michael Peirce, who was killed in a war 
with the Indians in Rhode Island. Hayward 
Peirce, commonly called Squire Peirce, the 
grandfather of E. Foster Peirce, was promi- 
nent in the community, and served as a Justice 
of the Peace. Elijah Peirce was a lifelong 
resident of this town. A successful merchant 
and farmer, he was no less prominent than his 
father. He was the principal auctioneer of 
the locality. His integrity and good judg- 
ment were generally recognized, and he was 
intrusted with the administration of several 
estates. In politics he was a Whig. He 
served for some time on the School Committee 
of Scituate, and was always actively inter- 
ested in educational affairs. A member of 
the Unitarian society, he was one of the com- 
mittee selected in 1840 to superintend the re- 
modelling of the old church, which was after- 
ward destroyed by fire. He died in 1848, at 
the age of fifty-eight. Two of his children 
are living — Silas and E. Foster. Silas 
Peirce is a successful business man of Boston, 
and resides in that city seven months of the 
year, spending the rest of the time in his sum- 
mer home at Scituate. He has been the Pres- 
ident of the Boston National Bank; is now 
the President of the North American Insur- 
ance Company, which has an office in Boston; 
and he is a Director of the Northern Rail- 
road, the Nantasket Steamship Company, and 
the Cohasset Electric Light Company. It 
was he who donated to this town the hand- 
some and well-equipped Peirce Memorial 
Library at North Scituate. His summer home 
is a handsome residence, with spacious and 
beautiful grounds. He married Miss Myra 



Hall, now deceased, and has three children — 
Lucy P., Silas, and Susan H. 

E. P"oster Peirce was reared in Scituate, 
receiving his education at public and private 
schools. He has spent most of his life in 
this town, chiefly occupied in agriculture. 
His home also is one of the residences of 
which Scituate is justly proud, its general ap- 
pearance denoting not only wealth, but good 
taste and careful ownership. He votes with 
the Republican party, takes an active interest 
in town matters, and has filled acceptably a 
number of public offices. Mr. Foster was 
married January 12, 1859, to Sarah A. Perry, 
a native of Scituate, and a daughter of Calvin 
and Mercy (Litchfield) Perry. Her grand- 
father, Adam Perry, was a resident of Han- 
over, Mass. ; and in that town her father, Cal- 
vin Perry, was born. Calvin Perry served in 
the War of 18 12. His wife was a native of 
Scituate, where he came to reside after his 
marriage, and died in 1855. Three other 
children are also living, namely: Leonard L. , 
residing in .Scituate; Elvira, residing in Scit- 
uate Centre, the widow of Marcena Webb; 
and Mary F., a retired school-teacher, also re- 
siding in this town. Mr. and Mrs. Peirce 
have one child, Annie F. Mrs. Peirce is a 
member of the Orthodox Congregational 
church. 



KLAVEL SHURTLEFF THOMAS, 
M.D. , LL.D., was born at Hanson, 
Mass., September 7, 1852, son of Isaac 
and Abby (Shurtleff) Thomas. By both par- 
ents he comes of old and distinguished ances- 
try. This branch of the Thomas family in 
America originated with William Thomas, 
born in 1573, who came here from England in 
1637. He was one of the merchant advent- 
urers who aided in founding the New Plym- 
outh Colony; and he owned a grant of land, 




-^^^'l^- 



^ 

J4^ 







FLAVEL S. THOMAS. M.D., LL.D. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



♦^S 



comprising;- filtccn tiiousaiui acres, which in- 
cliulcd the Daniel Webster farm at Marshficld. 
A gravestone marks his last rcstiny-place in 
the old Marshficld burial-ground. 

His son Nathaniel came with him to Amer- 
ica. He had a son known as Colonel Na- 
thaniel, who, acting for himself and others in 
1662, bought from the Indians a large tract of 
hind, thereafter calleil the "Major's Pur- 
chase," Und received a gootlly slice of it in 
compensation for his services. Portions of 
that property are still in the possession of the 
family, Wampatuck farm — formerly a part of 
the Isaac Thomas farm — being owned by Dr. 
Thomas. The fourth generation was repre- 
sented by Lieutenant Isaac Thomas, born in 
1682, who lived near Gordan Rest, Hanson; 
and the fifth, by Captain Edward Thomas, 
l)orn in 1713, who resided on the Isaac 
Thcimas farm. After these came Isaac, the 
great-grandfather of Dr. Thomas ; Josiah, the 
grandfather; and Isaac, the father. 

William Shurtleff, a native of England, was 
the founder of the Shurtleff family in Amer- 
ica. His son Abiel had a son Benjamin, 
whose son Benjamin, second, was the father 
of Lot, Benjamin, Charles, Barzallia, IMilton, 
Nathaniel, Samuel, Flavel, Abigail, Ruth, 
and Hannah. Of these Samuel was a physi- 
cian. Benjamin, the third of the name, also 
a physician, endowed Shurtleff College at 
Upper Alton, 111. Dr. Benjamin's son. Dr. 
Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff, was Mayor of 
Boston, and a celebrated author and antiquary. 
Flavel Shurtleff, the father of Dr. Thomas's 
mother, was a graduate of Brown University, 
studied theology in Philadelphia, and preached 
in Hanson and several other places. 

Flavel Shurtleff Thomas, having received 
his early education in the town schools of 
Hanson, subsequently studied at Hanover 
Academy, Phillips Andover Academy, Harvard 



University, Cornell University, Shurtleff Col- 
lege, Boston University, Boston Museum of 
Natural History, Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, Montreal Veterinary College, 
Illinois Wesleyan University, Syracuse Uni- 
versity, Correspondence University, McGill 
University, and the National University. He 
began the study of medicine in 1871 with 
Woodbridge R. Howes, M.D., of Hanover, 
Mass., and subsequently attended three courses 
of lectures at Harvard University Medical 
School, and at McGill University, Faculty of 
Medicine. Having received his diploma from 
Harvard in 1874, he entered upon the practice 
of his profession at Ithaca, N. Y., in the same 
year. After spending a few months in that 
town, he removed to Hanson, which has been 
his place of residence since. He has been 
town physician since 1879; ^^'^s lecturer on 
comparative anatomy for the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons, Boston, in 18S3; has 
been physician to Gordan Rest Sanitarium, 
Hanson, since 1891 ; and physician to Maquan 
Sanitarium at Hanson since it was opened by 
him in 1894 for the treatment of chronic 
diseases, especially those of women. He is 
also examiner for the New York Mutual and 
the Manhattan Life Insurance Companies. 

Harvard, as before mentioned, conferred on 
him his medical degree; Shurtleff College 
conferred the degrees of Master of Arts and 
Doctor of Laws; the Montreal College, that 
of Veterinary Surgeon; Syracuse University, 
those of Bachelor of Science and Master of 
Science; McGill University, Doctor of Veter- 
inary Science; and the National University, 
Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Zoology. 
The last-named degree, Doctor of Zoology, 
was introduced from Europe into the United 
States by Dr. Thomas, who was also the first 
person to receive it from an American col- 
lege. He entered the National University as 



466 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a post-graduate student and a candidate for 
this degree, and completed the necessary 
course of two years under the direction of Pro- 
fessor A. Birge, Ph.D. Previous to this 
zoology had been a favorite study with him; 
and he had performed the usual college work 
in the science and that in professional zoology 
required at the McGill and Harvard Medical 
Schools, and had also been a special and post- 
graduate student in zo5logy in Cornell, under 
Professors Law, Gage, and Wilder, in Syra- 
cuse, with Professor Underwood, and at Bos- 
ton Museum of Natural History, with Profes- 
sors Van Vleck and Hyatt. His degree of 
Doctor of Laws was received in 1S92. On 
learning of the event, the principal of Phillips 
Andover Academy, under date of February 17, 
1893, wrote him as follows: — ■ 

J/)' dear Dr. Thomas, — I am delighted to see your 
honors crowned with the larger wreath. Your academic 
recognition is very nearly complete, is it not ? The 
Rev. W. C. Winslow — the Egyptologist — is a D.D., 
Ph.D.. D.Sc, LL.D., D.C.L., and L.H.D., I think; but 
you are ahead. You must feel that the satisfaction is 
in having earned them by your painstaking fidelity and 
public spirit. 

I often think how little acknowledgment I have made 
for your interest in me and the school. 

Yours, (^. p p Bancroft. 

Dr. Thomas is largely devoted to literary 
work, which in his later years has been char- 
acterized by profound scholarship. Among 
his writings may be mentioned his graduating 
thesis on "Opium"; his "Lectures on Com- 
parative Anatomy," delivered at the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, Boston; his 
Doctor of Philosophy thesis, "Birds of Han- 
son"; a paper on "Insects Injurious to Vege- 
tation in Hanson," read before the Farmers' 
Institute of Plymouth County Agricultural 
Society; three papers read before the Massa- 
chusetts Medical Society, respectively named 



"The Value of a Knowledge of Comparative 
Pathology to the Doctor of Medicine," "The 
Value of a Knowledge of Comparative Anat- 
omy to the Doctor of Medicine," and "Doctor 
of Medicine, What it is and What it should 
be"; a prize essay, "Liquid Manures," 
written for the Plymouth County Agricultural 
Society; contributions to the Neiv England 
Medical Monthly, entitled "The Ideal Medi- 
cal School," "Medical Education," "The 
Best Preliminary Education for the Study 
of Medicine," and "A Few Words to Medi- 
cal Schools"; "The Lecture System," an 
article published in the Boston Medical and 
Snrgical Journal ; "University Degrees," in 
the Scliool Bulletin of Syracuse, N.Y. ; "The 
Physician" and "Medicines," in the Boston 
Journal of Hcaltli ; "Veterinary Degrees," 
in the Journal of Comparative Medicine and 
Surgery; "Life in a Puddle" and "Micro- 
scopic Pond Life," in Youtli' s Companion; 
"Montreal Letters" and "Syracuse Letter," 
in Old Colony Memorial : "Non-resident De- 
grees" and "The Current Value of University 
Degrees" in the National Magazine; "The 
Medical Missionary," contributed to the 
Healthy Home; "Doctor of Laws, Origin, 
History, Past and Present Use," and "Latin 
or English Order in University Degrees," in 
the University Magazine of New York; "A 
Study of the Present System of University De- 
grees, with Generalizations and Suggestions," 
and "Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of 
Science," in Education of Boston; and "The 
Best Course of Study Preparatory to the Study 
of Medicine," in American Journal of Educa- 
tion of St. Louis. He is also the author of 
these pamphlets: "Lectures on the Science 
of Agriculture," "A Perfect University," 
and "University Degrees: What they mean. 
What they indicate, and How to use them." 
The department of University Degrees and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



4^7 



Education in the "Standard Dictionary of the 
English Language," published by l'"unk & 
Wagnalls Company, New York, was edited by 
Dr. Thomas. The publisher also submitted 
proofs of the entire work to his inspection 
before sending it to press. The question re- 
garding a rule to be followed in printing the 
academic degrees of the two hundred and 
forty-seven editors of the dictionary, and other 
degrees therein, was left to his decision, 
which was that old titles, which centuries of 
use had crystallized in the Latin form, as 
Ph.D. and M.D., should retain that form, and 
that all modern degrees, such as B.S. and 
M.S., together with all others that have been 
written both ways, such as R.A. and M.A. , 
take the English form. William T. Harris, 
LL. D., the United States Commissioner of 
Education, who is editing the "International 
Education Series," has recently invited Dr. 
Thomas to prepare a dictionary of university 
degrees for that work. 

In 1879, July 9, Dr. Thomas was married 
to Miss Caroline M. Smith., daughter of Cap- 
tain Joseph Smith, C.E., of Titusville, Pa. 
Their two children are: Percival Shurtleff, 
born October 7, 18S4; and Saba Drew, born 
I-"ebruary 27, 1893. At present the Doctor is 
serving the town of Hanson as a member of its 
School Committee, and is a Trustee of Plym- 
outh County Agricultural Society. He joined 
the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1875 
and the Harvard Medical School Alumni As- 
sociation in 1 891. A Mason of long standing 
in Puritan Lodge of Whitman, Mass., he was 
exalted to the Royal Arch degree in Pilgrim 
Chapter of Abington, Mass., on February 15, 
1895; and he was created Knight Templar in 
Old Colony Commandcry of Abington on Feb- 
ruary 3, 1896. He is also a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows in North 
River Lodge of Hanover, Mass. It is not 



neces.sary to say that Dr. Thomas is highly 
esteemed by Hanson people, who feel a war- 
rantable pride in having among them a man of 
his distinction. 

Biographical sketches of Favcl S. Thomas 
may be found in "Syracuse University Alumni 
Record," " Pliysicians and Surgeons of Amer- 
ica" (with portrait), and in History of Plym- 
outh County." 



OHN S. BROOKS, of Hanover, who 
has been successfully engaged in busi- 
ness here for upward of half a century, 
was born in North Hanover, Plymouth County, 
October 27, 1824, son of John and Amy 
(Mann) Brooks. His parents had ten chil- 
dren, of whom two died in infancy. The 
rest, who all attained maturity, were: John 
S., Levi, Warren, Thomas D. , lunma, Sarah, 
Mary, and Hannah. Levi lost his life during 
the Civil War, in the Red River E.vpe- 
dition. John S. Brooks was the eldest. 
He obtained his education in the common 
schools and at a private school kept by Judge 
Harris, now of Brockton. Unable to attend 
school beyond his twelfth year, e.xxepting dur- 
ing the winter, he began work at the shoe- 
maker's trade, which he followed continuously 
for fifteen years. He then purchased the 
store which he has since prosperously con- 
ducted, a period of forty-four years. He has 
a well-selected stock of general dry goods, 
groceries, etc. The place was a union store 
for some years. 

Mr. Brooks has been twice married. His 
first union was contracted June 2^, 1850, with 
Miss Nancy Binney, who died childless. On 
October 19, 1869, Miss I-Iliza F. Shurtleff be 
came his wife. Born of this marriage are two 
children — John F. and Marion S. Since 
1 888 Mr. Brooks has had charge of the North 



468 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Hanover post-office. He was elected in 1861 
to the office of Selectman, and has served in 
that capacity altogether about five years. He 
has also been an Overseer of the Poor and As- 
sessor. 



4^ •> » 




ATHANIEL HENRY CROSS, for- 
merly a well-known business man of 

1'^ ^ North Bridgewater, Mass., where 

more than fifty years ago he was engaged in 
carriage manufacturing, was born in East 
Bridgewater, October 11, 1803. He was a 
son of Captain Nathaniel Cross, who had re- 
moved thither a short time previously from 
Exeter, N.H. In 1824, when twenty-one 
years of age, having acquired his education in 
South Bridgewater, apd also mastered the 
wheelwright's trade, Nathaniel H. settled in 
North Bridgewater, now Brockton. An in- 
telligent, well-informed man, energetic, and 
enterprising, he not only successfully carried 
on his business of wagon and carriage making, 
but dealt considerably in real estate in the 
vicinity, and was also somewhat interested in 
Western lands. He was a Democrat in poli- 
tics, and President Jackson appointed him 
Postmaster at North Bridgewater, which office 
he filled acceptably for a number of years. In 
religion he vvas liberal and progressive, re- 
garding belief as an "act of the intellect as 
well as the heart"; and he attended the Uni- 
tarian church, of whose pastor, the Rev. M. 
Goldsboro, he was an intimate friend. Strictly 
temperate from principle, he was an active 
worker in temperance societies. As was the 
custom in those days, he took part in the 
annual drill of the local militia, of which for 
some years he was an enrolled member. He 
departed this life on March 25, 1843, in the 
fortieth year of his age. 

In October, 1824, Mr. Cross married Lucy 
Vose, daughter of Elijah Vose, of Boston. 



She was born in Boston, April 9, 1807. At 
the age of twelve, being then an orphan, she 
went to Bridgewater to live, and there at- 
tended a private boarding-school. By her 
marriage she became the mother of six chil- 
dren, namely: Nathaniel and Henry, both 
now deceased; William W. Cross, a promi- 
nent manufacturer of Brockton; and Lucy, 
who married Charles C. Eield, also a promi- 
nent business man of Brockton; Mrs. M. ]?. 
l^urland, the wife of Dr. Burland, a well- 
known physician of Philadelphia; and Mrs. 
Susan Holbrook, of Brockton. The old fam- 
ily homestead in North Bridgewater, pur- 
chased by Mr. Cross in 1831, after his demise 
was occupied by Mrs. Cross until her death, 
on May 4, 1896, at the advanced age of 
eighty-nine years. Until within two years of 
her death she had charge of the estate left by 
her husband, and managed it very success- 
fully; and, excepting the last year of her life, 
she was mentally active, able to attend to 
business and to read the newspapers. She 
was much interested in charities and reforms. 
In her younger days she belonged to various 
temperance societies, and at one time was 
president of a benevolent association. Later 
in life she bestowed several sums on various 
public institutions. She was a lady of quiet, 
gentle, and refined tastes and manners, and 
was much esteemed. 



OHN JOSEPH SHAW, M.D., a well- 
known physician of Plymouth County, 
who settled in the town of Plymouth, 
was born August 11, 1842, in East Bridge- 
water, Mass., where his ancestors had resided 
for about two hundred years. Joseph Shaw, 
son of John and grandson of Abraham, of 
Dedham, was the first of the name in this 
country, having removed from Weymouth and 




JOHN J. SHAW. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



47" 



bought a large tract of land in ICast Bridge- 
water (then Bridgevvater), about the year 
1698. The first Joseph Shaw had a son, the 
Rev. John Shaw, who was born in I{!ast 
Bridgevvater in the year 1708, and was the 
grandfather of Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, of 
Boston, and his cousin, the Hon. John A. 
Shaw, of Bridgewater. Joseph, first, also had 
a son i)orn in 171 1, Deacon Zechariah, who 
had a son Zechariah, born in 175 1. lie liad 
Josei)h in 1779, and in 1785 Alvan, wlio was 
a volunteer in the War of 18 12. 

The second Joseph, who was the grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch, was a man of 
energetic character, a competent farmer, and 
owner of a grist-mill. He was prominent in 
religious matters, ami was a pillar of the old 
orthodo.x church. Li the latter part of his 
life he retired from active work, and he died 
in East Bridgewater in his eight\-sixth year. 
He was twice married. His first wife was 
Olive, daughter of Samuel Dike, whose 
father, Samuel, was born in Scotland in 1782. 
Their only child was .Samuel Dike Sliaw, the 
father of the subject of this sketch. 

Owing to precarious health, it was not 
deemed advisable that .Samuel D. Shaw should 
go to college, as had been intended by his 
parents. His father gave him a grist-mill, 
and thus started him in the grain business, 
which, under his skilful management, in a 
few years grew into a large wholesale and re- 
tail trade in grain and flour, and all the re- 
quirements of a country supply store. 

Mr. Samuel D. Shaw also controlled a mill 
for the manufacture of building lumber, and 
was at one time interested in tack manufact- 
uring. He has been a great sufferer from fire, 
having had no less than si.x separate experi- 
ences of this kind, each time with heavy loss. 
In spite of his close business application he 
has been a lifelong student, being especially 



interested in the natural sciences, in which 
line he has acquired a high degree of profi- 
ciency. He was always a Whig in politics 
until the formation of the Re|)ublican party, 
since which event he has acted witii that or- 
ganization; and at the time of the abolition 
movement he was actively interested in the 
suppression of slavery. He retired from busi- 
ness some years since, and now resides with 
his son. He was born on the old Bridgewater 
place on November 25, 181 3, and married in 
1839 VVealthy Stickney Estes, daughter of 
James Estes, of Brunswick, Me., and a de- 
scendant of Sir William Thompson, knight 
and baron of the city of London. They had 
two sons — Henry W. and John Joseph. 
Henry W., the elder son, died at the age of 
twenty-six. 

John Joseph Shaw commenced his school 
life at the academy of William Allen in East 
Bridgewater, and afterward attended the com- 
mon schools of the town, and later the Bridge- 
water Normal School, where he was graduated 
in 1863. He began the study of medicine in 
1864, graduating from the Hygeo-Therapeutic 
College in New York City in 1867. Contin- 
uing his studies, in 1872 he took a post-grad- 
uate medical course at Harvard, after finishing 
which he practised for two years in East 
Bridgewater. In October, 1874, Dr. Shaw 
located himself in Plymouth, where he has 
since been engaged in a constantly increasing 
practice. He is a member of the .Massachu- 
setts State Medical Society and of the Amer- 
ican Listitute of Ilomceopathy. Dr. Shaw is 
an original thinker and a clear and facile 
writer. He has written considerably for the 
lay and meilical press and medical societies, 
and is the author of two monographs, entitled 
"The Scientific Basis of Homceopathy " and 
"Why I am a Homaopath." 

Dr. Shaw married for his first wife Persis 



47 : 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



R. Kingman, of Keenc, N.I I., by whom he 
had a son, John Holbrook, who graduated in 

1893 from Harvard Medical College, and in 

1894 from Boston University, and is now in 
successful practice in Plymouth. Dr. Shaw's 
second wife is Edith Luella Aldrich, daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Jeremiah Ivnight Aldrich, of 
Warwick, R.I. Mr. Aldrich is a second 
cousin of e.\-Governor Henry Howard, and e.x- 
Lieutenant Governor Albert C. Howard, of 
Rhode Island. He is also a second cousin 
and intimate friend of James Burrell Angell, 
former minister to China, and now president 
of Michigan University. His ancestors were 
for many years the controllers of Rhode 
Island politics. The Rev. J. K. Aldrich has 
held pastorates in East Bridgewater, Groton, 
Rye, Nashua, and other places. He has now 
retired from active work, and resides on one 
of his estates in Hyannis. He has written 
extensively, and is author of a work of deep 
research and profound logic, entitled "The 
Day of our Saviour's Crucifixion." Dr. Shaw 
and his present wife have had two children, 
namely: Lillian Estes, born October 13, 
1 881; and Joseph Henry, October 9, 1886. 
The death of their daughter Lillian, which 
occurred May 16, 1895, was a terrible blow, 
from which they will never recover. 

Dr. Shaw is a member of Mayflower Lodge, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and also 
of Patuxet Colony, Pilgrim Fathers, and 
Plymouth Rock Lodge, of the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and is medical examiner 
of the two latter. He was town physician for 
two years. In the summer and fall of 1896 
he visited Europe, going to London as a dele- 
gate of the International Homoeopathic Medi- 
cal Congress, and afterward visiting Scotland, 
Belgium, Germany, the Rhine, Switzerland, 
and Paris. After his return Dr. Shaw re- 
mained for a time in New York City, where 



he took a special course at the New York 
Post-graduate Medical College and Hospital. 



ESSE M. CUSHMAN, a successful 
merchant of Rochester, was born here, 
November 27, 1826, son of Gilson and 
Susan H. (Purington) Cushman. Having ac- 
quired his education in the district school, he 
shipped as cabin boy at Mattapoisett for his 
first voyage, on board a whaling vessel, being 
then fourteen years old. The vessel was 
wrecked, and the crew cast away in the Arctic 
Ocean, near the northern edge of the Gulf 
Stream; but, fortunately, all were rescued. 
Undeterred by this experience, the lad, after 
reaching home, shipped on the brig "Amer- 
ica" from Wareham, Mass. This vessel 
sprung a leak when a few days out, and was 
obliged to return to port. He then engaged 
as cabin boy on the ship " Lagoda " of New 
Bedford, which was out twenty months, cruis- 
ing in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. By the 
time this vessel returned to port he was an ex- 
perienced sailor, and next went as able sea- 
man on the ship "Liverpool," which was out 
three years, whaling in the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans. On his fourth voyage he was the 
second mate of a merchant vessel sailing from 
Boston to the West Indies. With this vessel 
he was connected about three years. 

Returning to Massachusetts in 1849, ^f''- 
Cushman caught the gold fever then raging, 
and went to California. He was in Califor- 
nia from 1849 to tl^^ spring of 1852, prospect- 
ing and mining with moderate success. He 
then came back to Rochester, and purchased 
the store which he has since successfully con- 
ducted. Here he dealt in grain for twenty 
years. He now keeps a good stock of general 
merchandise. Having occupied his present 
stand for forty-four years, he is one of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



473 



oldest and bcst-kiu)wii l)usincss men in this 
section of the county. He was married Au- 
gust 2, 1853, to Miss Dorcas P. Swift. They 
had one child, who died in infancy. Mr. 
Cushman votes the Republican ticket. He 
was town liquor agent for one year. He is 
quite popular with his townsmen, anil has 
many old friends "among the seafaring men of 
the locality. 



—•-•••-•— 




inWARlJ M. S\V1':1':NY, a well-known 
member of the firm E. Phillips & Sons, 
of South Hanover, was born Septem- 
ber II, 1834, in Plattsburg, Clinton County, 
N.Y. , son of Felix and Margaret (Dunn) 
Sweeny. When he was four years old, he 
moved with his father and mother to Clinton- 
ville, N.Y., where he had the benefit of 
public-school instruction until he was twelve. 
Then he began to work for his living in the 
nail factory and rcdling-mill of that place, and 
remained there four years. From Clinton- 
ville he went to Fairhaven, Vt. , to learn the 
trade of nail-making of Messrs. Dewey & 
Cushman. Three years later, feeling the 
need of more education, he attended a private 
school for one winter. Subsequently, after a 
brief stay in Providence, R.I., he served a 
short period in the Parker mills at Wareham, 
Mass. Mr. Sweeny then worked at his trade 
for three years in I^ridgewater. In 185S he 
came to South Hanover to be employed by 
E. Y. Perry & C, now known under the 
style of v.. I'hilli[is & Sons. His efforts for 
them were so well appreciated that after a 
few years he was appointed foreman, and later 
superintendent. In 1886 he was received into 
the firm as a partner. Messrs. I-^. Phillips & 
Sons manufacture forty-nine different kinds 
of nails and tacks, besides sheet lead, zinc 
battery plates, glaziers' tools or points, and 
poultry staples. 




On May 30, 1S57, Mr. Sweeny was marrieti 
to Lucy M. Thaxter, who has since borne him 
five children. These are: Henry L., lulward 
P., P'rnest Franklin, l-'lorence, and Rodolph 
VV. • Henry L. is a medical jiractitioncr in 
Kingston, N. H. ; lulward P. is a book-keeper 
in New York City; Ivrnest Franklin is con- 
nected with the Strong Manufacturing Com- 
pany in VVinsted, Conn. ; PTorence is at home; 
and Rodolph \V. is attending schof)l. In pol- 
itics the father is a Republican. He is a 
Mason of Phcenix Blue Lodge, Royal Arch 
Chapter, and Old Colony Commandery; and 
he has also membership in the Knights of 
Honor. 

— *■••*-» 

NDREW DENIIAM is one of the old 
and respected residents of Mattapoi- 
sett. He was born here, January 
28, 1829, son of Andrew Denham, a me- 
chanic, and Artemesia (Besse) Denham. He 
was reared on his father's farm, acquiring his 
early education in the district school. The 
wider knowledge of which he is now the 
master was gained by personal observation 
and experience. Like most of the boys in his 
native town, he took to the water when quite 
young. At the age of seventeen he shipped 
as seaman on a whaling vessel, which was 
away cruising in the Atlantic and Pacific for 
three years, during which the lad saw a great 
deal of the world. One of the places visited 
was San Francisco, then a small town of ir- 
regular plan and architecture. 

At the end of the cruise he decided that 
there was "no place like home," and settled 
on the farm \\'here he had passed his boyhood. 
The estate, which has been owned by the fam- 
ily for a great many years, contains two hun- 
dred acres. Here for nearly half a century he 
has been successfully engaged in general farm- 
ing and dairying. He is now regarded as one 



474 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the leading agriculturists of this section., 
Mr. Denham was married in 1S50 to Miss 
Diana ]5arstow, and has three children — 
Henry L. , Nathan B. , and Sarah M. He is 
interested in politics so far as they subserve 
the general good, but is not a party man. 



[DWARD VV. VVINSOR, of the firm 
Winsor & Peterson, Duxbury, dealers 
in fine groceries, was born in this 
town, May 19, 1839, son of Captain Benjamin 
and Hannah B. (Freeman) Winsor, and grand- 
son of John Winsor. Samuel, the father of 
John, was the founder of the Massachusetts 
branch of the family, which is supposed to be 
of Scottish origin. Captain Benjamin Winsor 
was a well-known and popular sea captain, 
who made voyages principally to ports in the 
Mediterranean Sea. In the efforts to make 
his orders heard by his men aloft, during a 
severe storm off the coast of Gibraltar, he in- 
jured his lungs, so that consumption found him 
an easy prey; and he died after a short ill- 
ness, only reaching the age of forty-four years. 
Keen of intellect, he had a good, practical ed- 
ucation and a thorough knowledge of naviga- 
tion. He never lost a vessel. In politics he 
was an earnest Jacksonian Democrat. His 
strong sympathy with that party prompted him 
to name a sloop that he owned the "Andrew 
Jackson." His wife, who survived him, lived 
to be seventy-four years old. Of their four 
children, two are living, nam.ely: Eudora, the 
widow of Columbus Whitten, residing at Mel- 
rose Highlands, Mass. ; and Edward W., the 
subject of this sketch. The others were: 
Claudius B. and Benjamin. 

The home life of Edward W. Winsor has 
been spent in Duxbury, where he was reared 
and educated. For a number of years he was 
in the employ of Cyrus Wakefield, of Wake- 



field, Mass., making rattan chairs. In 1880 
he was engaged by W. S. Freeman as manager 
of the store in which he now owns an interest, 
and acted in that capacity for four years. He 
then bought out Mr. Freeman, and carried on 
the business for one year in his own name, 
being the sole proprietor. In the following 
year he took in as a partner W. O. Peterson, 
with whom he has prosjierously conducted the 
place since, under the firm name of Winsor & 
Peterson. They give their attention chiefly 
to handling standard groceries. In politics 
Mr. Winsor is a stanch Republican. He is a 
member of Mattakesett Lodge, No. iio. Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been 
Chaplain of the lodge. His religious belief 
is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. 




"ON. BENJAMIN GAMMONS has 
been long identified with the indus- 
trial interests of Rochester, and at 
one time represented it in the State legis- 
lature. He was born here, February 12, 
1832, son of Noble and Roxanna (Swift) Gam- 
mons. Noble Gammons, who was born in 
Middleboro, Mass., settled in Rochester when 
a young man. He died on the farm now occu- 
pied by his son, at the age of eighty-one. 
His wife, a native of Wareham, Mass., died 
at the age of sixty-eight. Their six children 
were: John I''\, Abigail, Ann, Benjamin, 
Roxanna, and Albert. 

Benjamin Gammons received a good practi- 
cal education in his native town. He went to 
work at the age of sixteen, obtaining employ- 
ment first in a carriage factory in Fall River, 
Mass., where he remained a year. After 
spending a few months at the same kind of 
work in Wareham, Mass., he learned the shoe- 
maker's trade, and thereafter followed it in 
Middleboro for about four years. When the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



475 



old Bay State was called upon to furnish her 
c|U(ita of men for the Civil War, Mr. Gammons 
was one of the first to respond from the shoe 
sliops. lie enlisted on April 15, 1861, as a 
private in Conipan\- 1), liightccnth Regiment 
of Massachusetts Infantry, and was mustered 
in at Reaclville. The first serious engage- 
ment in which he took part was at Old Church, 
Va. During a great part of his term of ser- 
vice his regiment was attached to the Army of 
the Potomac, in l"itz-John Porter's division. 
Having gone through his full share of the 
hardships and trials of a soldier's life, he was 
honorably discharged on September 2, 1864. 
I-'rom 1865 to 1867 he worked at his trade in 
New Castle, Pa. He then returned to his na- 
tive town, and was engaged in the manufacture 
of shoes until 1894, when he retired. He has 
a valuable farm, on which he has lived since 
1867, and where he carried on his business of 
shoe manufacturing. 

Mr. Gammons was married in 1866 to Miss 
Mary J. Dieringcr. He has no children. 
He is a member of the Republican party. He 
has served with credit on the School Com- 
mittee, and represented the town in the State 
legislature of 1891. A Mason in good stand- 
ing, he belongs to Pythagorean Lodge of 
Marion, Mass. Mr. Gammons is well known 
and highly esteemed in Rochester and vicinity. 




ENRY MKRRITT, a reliable and suc- 
cessful contractor and builder of 
^^ I Scituate Centre, was born in Scitu- 
ate, September 5, 1825, son of Asa and Betsey 
(Cudworth) Merritt. The Merritt family, 
which is scattered over the States, is de- 
scended from Henry Merritt, who was a mem- 
ber of the colony from Kent, England, that 
settled in Scituate in 1628, and whose memory 
is perpetuated by a monument erected in the 



old cemetery at Scituate Harbor. The great- 
grandfather of Henry Merritt was James Mer- 
ritt, and the grandfather was Asa Merritt. 
Both were lifelong residents of Scituate. 

Asa Merritt, the father, was a native of this 
town; and for some years he followed the 
trade of a carpenter. During his long useful 
life he helil various town offices, including 
that of Selectman; and he served as a soldier 
in the War of 18 12. When he died in 1866, 
he left the reputation of a worthy citizen. 
His wife, Betsey Cudworth, also a native of 
this town, came of an old Scituate family of 
English origin, sprung from General Cud- 
worth, who served in the colonics under the 
British crown. Of the children born to Asa 
antl Betsey Merritt, Henry and Asa J. are the 
only survivors. 

Henry Merritt obtained his education in the 
jiublic schools of his native town and at a i)ri- 
vate school. At the age of seventeen he com- 
menced to learn the carpenter's trade, serving 
his apprenticeship with his father. Subse- 
quently, after working as a journeyman for a 
time, he established himself in the business 
of contractor and builder, which he has since 
prosperously followed. I'or many years past 
he has also been engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. On December 25, 1849, he was vmited 
in marriage with Lydia B. Merritt. She is a 
daughter of James I,, and I'.mily (Litchfield) 
Merritt, both of whom were natives of Scitu- 
ate. James Merritt served in the War of 
1812, and died in this town in 1859. His 
other surviving children are: Emily C, Har- 
vey, and Amos W. Henry Merritt is a mem- 
ber of the L'^nitarian church. In politics he 
is a Republican. Frec|uent invitations to ac- 
cept office have been invariably declined by 
him, he preferring to devote what leisure time 
he can spare from his business to the enjoy- 
ment of the home circle. Vet he takes a 



476 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



lively interest in public affairs, and is ever 
ready to promote the good of the general com- 
munity, lie occupies the residence which was 
built by his father in 1817, and which by the 
aid of a few necessary repairs still wears a well- 
preserved appearance. Highly esteemed, and 
one of the representative men of Scituate, he 
is a worthy representative of his historic 
family. 

7TAAPTAIN JOHN C. DAWES, a suc- 
( tT cessful coal dealer, and the agent of 
V»^_^^ the Standard Oil Company in 
Kingston, was born in Duxbury, this county, 
June 20, 1850, son of Captain James H. and 
Abbie (Chandler) Dawes. The father is a 
native of Duxbury,- and the mother of Ver- 
mont. An account of the family ancestry will 
be found in the sketch of Captain James H. 
Dawes. 

After residing in Duxbury until he was 
twelve years old, John C. Dawes moved with 
his parents to Kingston, continuing, however, 
to attend school in his native town. He grad- 
uated from the Partridge Academy when he 
was fifteen years old, and then took a course at 
French's Commercial College in Boston. At 
the age of sixteen he began to follow the sea. 
His first voyages were made with Captain 
Justus Bailey, who was engaged in the foreign 
trade. Beginning a year later, he made sev- 
eral voyages with his father. He ne.xt served 
with Captain Walter L. Joslyn, of Duxbury, 
and then became master of the "Matchless," 
a twelve-hundred ton ship owned in Boston. 
He had been engaged in the foreign trade 
as commander of the "Matchless" for eight 
years, when early in the eighties he retired 
from the sea. In the course of his seafaring 
life he doubled Cape Horn fourteen times and 
thrice circumnavigated the globe. Subse- 
quently he resided for a time in Mexico, as 



purchasing agent for the Plymouth Cordage 
Company. Returning to Kingston, he became 
a dealer in groceries, grain, hay, and coal. 
In 1894 he sold the grocery department to 

E. S. Wright, and became the local agent of 
the Standard Oil Company. He continued in 
the coal business, which he has since con- 
ducted with success. 

Captain Dawes wedded Mary T. Whitman, 
daughter of Deacon Seth Whitman, of Pem- 
broke, Mass. ; and now has one son, Theodore 

F. In politics he is a Republican, and the 
present Secretary of the Republican Town 
Committee. At one time he served the com- 
munity as Town Auditor. He is a Director 
of the Kingston Cemetery Association, and a 
life member and a steward of the Boston 
Marine Association. He is a member of 
Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Dux- 
bury ; and of Adams Lodge, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, of Kingston. Taking 
much interest in yachting, he conceived and 
organized the Kingston Yacht Club, which 
was duly chartered May i, 1895, and of which 
he is the Commodore. He has every reason 
to feel proud of this club, which is the largest 
in the State, having two hundred and eighty 
members; while the club has every reason to 
be proud of its Commodore. 




ILLIAM H. LITCHFIELD, a rep- 
resentative man of Scituate, was 
born here, September 15, 1825, son 
of Hubbard and Eliza (Litchfield) Litchfield. 
He belongs to the seventh generation of Litch- 
fields in this town, descended from Lawrence 
Litchfield, who settled here in 1636. From 
Lawrence the line was continued by Josiah, 
Josiah (second), Nicholas, Isaac, and Abner 
H., to the father of William H. 

Hubbard Litchfield was one of three chil- 



f$>'' 



yf^^ ^^^^v^ 




CHARLES WILLIAMSON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



479 



drcn borne by liis mother August ii, 1796, 
the others having l)ecn a brother and sister. 
When of a suitalile age, he began to learn the 
ship earpenter's trade, at which he afterward 
worked until about twenty-eight years old. 
He then settletl on the estate now occupied by 
William H. Litchfield, whose dwelling, how- 
ever, is some distance from that of his father, 
devoted the rest of his life to agriculture, and 
died in his eightieth year lie was a member 
ot the Republican party. His wife, also a 
native of Scituate, bore him several children, 
of whom the only other survivor is Thomas P., 
of Abington, Mass. 

William H. Litchfield grew to manhood on 
his father's estate, which has been in the pos- 
session of the family for over one hundred and 
fifty years. He was educated in the Scituate 
public schools, attending chiefly during the 
three winter months, and leaving school at 
the age of sixteen. In his early manhood he 
worked for a while at blacksmithing. He 
subsequently engaged in general farming and 
the business of live stock dealer. During 
two years of the war period he was in the pro- 
vision business in Boston with John 11. Litch- 
field (now deceased), under the firm name of 
John II. Litchfield & Co. Beginning several 
years ago, he is now engaged in probate busi- 
ness and conveyancing, in connection with the 
office of Justice of the I'eace. He is a Director 
of the South Scituate Savings Bank, serving 
also as a member of the Investment Commit- 
tee. A prudent and careful business man, 
Mr. Litchfield has been successful in his life- 
work. His judgment in real estate and other 
matters has been sought by friend and neigh- 
bor. Practically speaking, he is a self-made 
man. 

Mr. Litchfield was married February 1 3, 
1 85 1, to Sarah Iv, daughter of Thomas antl 
Chloe (Jenkins) Vinal, all natives of Scituate. 



The Vinals, too, arc one of the old families 
of this town. Mrs Litchfield is descended 
from Widow Annie Vinal, one of the original 
Connihasset proprietors who settled here in 
the seventeenth century Thomas Vinal, who 
followed the business of auctioneer, was a 
prominent man of Scituate, a Mason in good 
standing, Selectman, Town Clerk, and a Rep- 
resentative in the State legislature. His 
wife's father, Gideon Jenkins, was a Revolu- 
tionary soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Vinal reared a 
large family, four members of which, besides 
Mrs. Litchfield, are living. These are: Han- 
nah C, the wife of Robert T. Delano, of San 
Francisco, Cal. ; Henry G., residing in Plym- 
outh, Mass. ; Cordelia T., the wife of David 
B. Litchfield, of Scituate; and Annie E. , re- 
siding in Scituate. A member of the Repub- 
lican party, Mr. Litchfield was first elected 
Selectman in 1867, and served eighteen years 
in succession, being annually re-elected. 
During eight years of this time he was Chair- 
man of the Board. While Selectman he was 
also Town Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. 
He has been a Justice of the Peace for a pro- 
longed period. Mrs. Litchfield is a member 
of the Unitarian church. 




JIARLKS WILLIAMSON, who died 
in December, i8yo, at his home in 
]\Iar.shfield, near Humarock, was a 
well-known, useful, and highly respected citi- 
zen, ranking in his day, and for the greater 
part of half a century, as one of the most 
successful farmers of Plymouth County. Mr. 
Williamson was born in the neighboring town 
of Du.xbury in November, 1825, and was a son 
of Samuel and Ann ((Gulliver) Williamson. 

Timothy Williamson, who is said to have 
settled in Marshfield in 1649, was probably 
the founder of the family in Plymouth County. 



480 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Charles Williamson's grandfather, Sam- 
uel Williamson, was a resident of Marshfield ; 
and in this town his son Samuel, Jr., was 
born. Samuel Williamson, Jr., resided in 
Du.Kbury for a number of years, but spent the 
latter part of his life on his farm in Marsh- 
field. He was one of the leading men of this 
town, active in public affairs, and served as 
Overseer of the Poor. An industrious and 
thrifty husbandman and a sagacious financier, 
he accumulated considerable property. 

Charles Williamson acquired the most of 
his education in the common schools of 
Marshfield, being twelve years of age when 
his parents removed to this town. He grew 
to manhood on the homestead near Humarock, 
and he here followed farming from boyhood to 
old age, in the winter seasons, for quite a 
period in his early active life, working dili- 
gently at shoemaking — a common practice 
with New England farmers forty years ago and 
more. Like his father before him, Mr. Will- 
iamson exerted his energies to good purpose, 
and secured the fruits of his toil by making 
wise investments. In politics he was a strong 
Democrat. He was frequently urged by his 
townsmen to accept public office; but, though 
he served for some time as Road Surveyor of 
his district, he would not consent to assume 
other responsibilities, modestly preferring the 
privacy of his home life. Mr. Williamson 
was identified for a number of years with the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He died a little 
more than si.x years ago, mourned as an ex- 
emplary citizen and a kind and obliging 
neighbor. 

Mr. Williamson married Sarah A. Richards, 
of Weymouth, Mass. ; and she bore him three 
children, namely: Emma R. , now wife of 
Abbott F. Lapham, of Marshfield Hills; 
Charles Henry; and Lizzie C, wife of John 
H. FHvell, of Marshfield, 



Charles Henry Williamson, the only son, 
was born in Marshfield, March 31, 1855. 
Reared on his father's farm, he adopted agri- 
culture as a life pursuit, and is recognized as 
one of the most capable and progressive 
farmers in this locality. His estate, the an- 
cestral homestead of one hundred and twenty 
acres, well located, is known as Walnut Grove 
Farm. It is furnished with comely and con- 
venient buildings, the residence commanding 
a broad sea view, and bears everywhere the 
marks of good care and cultivation. Mr. 
Williamson farms intelligently, and raises 
excellent crops. He gives considerable atten- 
tion to horticulture, growing strawberries and 
raspberries, as well as apples, cherries, and 
other orchard fruits. He has recently set out 
a large number of apple, peach, walnut, and 
other fruit and shade trees, beautifying his 
place, and adding to its value. 

He was married May 12, 1888, to Alice M. 
Edwards, daughter of James H. Edwards, of 
Charlestown, Mass. Four children have 
blessed their union, but of two of them — 
Willie and Blanche — they have been bereft. 
The living are: Paul R. and Olive F. Mr. 
Charles H. Williamson is independent in pol- 
itics. He is a worthy representative of an 
old Marshfield family, and has the confidence 
and esteem of the community. 



WOODBRIDGE R. HOWES, M.D., 
of Hanover, whose active life has 
been devoted to the practice of 
medicine, was born August 12, 1817, in Mat- 
tapoisett, Plymouth County. His parents, 
Abel and Deborah (Ruggles) Howes, natives 
respectively of Fairhaven and Rochester, 
Mass. 

Dr. Howes' early life was spent in his 
native town, where he attended the district 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



48. 



school. At a later ilatc he went to Pcirce 
Academy in MiiUlleboro, Mass., and siibsc- 
qiiently to l-'airliaven Academy, distinguish- 
in;^ himself in both institutions by rapid ad- 
vancement in his studies. At the age of six- 
teen he began teacliiiig liistrict schools, which 
occupation he followed for ten years. About 
the year 1852 he began the study of medicine. 
After further prosecuting the study for two 
years in the ofTice of Dr. Sparrow, of Matta- 
poisett he entered the Berkshire IMedical 
School. Later he became a student in tlie 
Harvard IMedical School, from which he was 
duly graduated. lie first located in Westerly, 
R.I. He had been there but a short time 
when the Civil War broke out, and he, in 
1861, enlisted in Company I) of the Eigh- 
teenth Massachusetts Infantry. He was 
mustered in at Readville, receiving a Lieu- 
tenant's commission before starting for the 
field of action. His regiment was sent to the 
Potomac, where the men were engaged in 
building fortifications. In April, 1862, Dr. 
Howes was taken sick. Later on, being dis- 
charged on account of his illness, he returned 
home. In October, 1863, having regained his 
health, he re-enlisted as assistant surgeon 
of the h'ourlh Massachusetts Infantry, with 
which he served nine months. He then ac- 
cepted a position in a counting-room in Matta- 
poisett for a few years. After this he came 
to Hanover, resumed his profession, and ac- 
quired a large and lucrative practice. In 
1884 he turned over his business to his son, 
and retired from active labor. 

In 1S48 Dr. Howes was married to Miss 
Mary \V. White. By her he became the 
father of two children, namely: Clarence L., 
an able physician, and his father's successor; 
and Mary W., the wife of Orrin Beals, an 
architect. He is a comrade of the Joseph K. 
Wilder I'ost, No. S3, Grand Army of the Re- 



public, of Hanover, which he has served as 
Commander and in other offices; and a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



iW" 



I'ORGK W. HUMPHRKY, a promi- 
\^^ I nent and highly esteemed resilient of 
Rochester, was born in Jericho, Vt. , 
October 12, 1826, .son of Eddy and Phebe 
(Lee) Humphrey. The father, who was a 
farmer in Jericho, died aged about seventy 
years, and the mother at the age of eighty- 
three. They had four children — James L., 
Edwin, Albert O., and the subject of this 
sketch. All are living except Edwin, who 
was killed by lightning when about thirty-five 
years old. George W. Humphrey received a 
good education at Jericho Academy. Begin- 
ning at the age of twenty-one, he taught 
school for three years near his home. Then, 
moving to New Bedford, he taught for about 
eight months at Eairhaven, Mass. For seven 
years thereafter he was employed as clerk in 
the grain store of P. G. Macomber in New 
Bedford, and for the si.v years following he 
was in the clothing business with his brother 
James L., as partner. In 1862 he moved to 
the farm in Rochester, which has since been 
his home. Here he has followed general 
farming and dairying, and now takes rank 
among the successful farmers of the locality. 
He has a valuable estate of two hundred and 
ten acres, and keeps a number of fine milch 
cows. Mr. Humphrey is not so active as he 
was before he was hurt in a railroad collision 
at Warchani, Mass., in 1881, while discharg- 
ing his duties as agent for the Ilingham I'ire 
Insurance Company. 

In 1854 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary A. Macomber, of New Bedford. 
Four children have blessed their union — 
Carrie F., George E., Chester W. , and Bessie 



482 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



A. George E. is now deceased. The father 
is a member of the Congregational church in 
New Bedford. In politics Mr. Humphrey 
favors the Republican side. He was in the 
State legislature in 1S72, and he was a Select- 
man of Rochester for four years. He has also 
been Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and 
School Committee man some time. 



T^HARLES H. PAINE, of Halifax, 
I \f now living in retirement, will be 
\i^ ^ readily remembered as Commis- 
sioner of the county, which office he held for 
thirty consecutive years. His birth took 
place in the town of Micldleboro, Plymouth 
County, January 5, 1820, and he is a son of 
Emerson and Lydia R. (Pendelton) Paine. 
The father, a minister of religion, was born 
at Foxboro, Mass., and the mother was a na- 
tive of Dighton, Mass. 

When but three years old, Charles H. Paine 
removed with his parents to Little Compton, 
R.I., where the next twelve years of his life 
were spent, and his education was acquired 
chiefly in the schools of that place. He is, 
however, for the most part a self-educated 
man, having received but little schooling after 
that time. From Little Compton he returned 
to Middleboro, and a year later went to Bos- 
ton, where he was successively employed in a 
wholesale drug store and clothing store for a 
year each. At the age of eighteen he shipped 
before the mast on the whaling vessel 
"Roman," for a two years' cruise in the 
Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific. After 
this he went on a six months' trip aboard a 
merchant vessel, sailing from New York to 
Rio Janeiro. He then came to Halifax, and 
learned shoemaking, after which he undertook 
the manufacture of shoes, and was success- 
fully engaged in that business for twenty 



years. In i860 he was chosen County Com- 
missioner, and held the office until i8go. 
While serving in this capacity he took up sur- 
veying and civil engineering, at which, in 
time, he acquired a large business. In 1890, 
when he reached the age of threescore and ten, 
he retired from active occupation. 

On Christmas Day, 1845, Mr. Paine and 
Miss Cordelia Bryant, of Halifax, were united 
in marriage. They have had six children, as 
follows: Lydia R., now deceased ; Charles I., 
foreman of the Herod shoe shop in Brockton ; 
Annie, the wife of Samuel Alden; Frank, 
an electrician, residing in Plymouth; Emer- 
son, who died in 1886; and Lena, the wife of 
Frank Woodward, of Bridgewater, who is en- 
gaged in the manufacture of boxes at Brock- 
ton. Since the organization of the Republi- 
can party, Mr. Paine has been one of its 
stanch supporters. He served as Town Treas- 
urer and Selectman in the fifties, and he has 
been a Justice of the Peace for about forty 
years, having received the commission origi- 
nally under Governor Banks. 




EWIS N. CURTIS was a well-known 
and much esteemed resident of Egypt. 
He was born in Scituate, March 3, 
1812, son of Charles and Abigail (Litchfield) 
Curtis. Both parents were natives of Scitu- 
ate. The family is one of the oldest and most 
prominent in this town. 

Having attended the common schools for 
the usual period, Lewis N. Curtis learned the 
shoemaker's trade, and afterward followed it 
for many years. The latter part of his life 
was spent exclusively in cultivating a good 
farm located in Egypt. He labored industri- 
ously for the affluence that rewarded him. By 
those manly traits of character which uncon- 
sciously assert their presence in those who 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



483 



possess them he gained the sincere good will 
of his neighbors and fclh)\v-tovvnsmen. He 
tool< a deep interest in all matters of pulilic 
importance, and in jiolitics he acted with the 
Republican party. His death occurred at his 
home in the village on July 9, 1894, at the 
age of eighty-two years, since which his fam- 
ily mourn him as a kind, affectionate, and in- 
dulgent husband and father. 

On November 28, 1843, Mr. Curtis was 
united in marriage with Harriet T. Litchfield, 
who survives him. She was born in Scituate, 
September 30, 1822, daughter of Paul and 
Harriet (Vinal) Litchfield. The great-grand- 
father of Mrs. Curtis was Tiiomas, and her 
granilfather was Roland LitcJificUl. Her an- 
cestry is traced through several generations to 
the original founder of the family in America, 
who settled in Scituate during the early Co- 
lonial period. Paul Litchfield, who passed 
his entire life in Plymouth County, and 
died in Scituate, October i, 1876, was the 
father of several children. Of these, Harriet 
T., now Mrs. Curtis, is the only one living. 
Mrs. Curtis has one daughter, Harriet M. 
The homestead, which she still occupies, was 
formerly her father's property. She and 
her daughter fully merit the sincere estimation 
in which they are held by their numerous 
friends and acquaintances. Poth ladies are 
prominent members of the Congregational 
church. 




|APTAIN ICHABOD F. ATWOOD, 
a prominent town officer of Middle- 
boro, was born in Fall Brook in 
this town, March 13, 1820. His parents were 
Nathaniel and Zilpha (Shurtleff) Atwood, and 
he is the only survivor of their five children — 
Flora, Gardener, Reuel, Polly, and Ichabod. 
He attended district schools and Peircc Acad- 
emy in his native town in his early years, 



making such good progress in his studies that, 
at the age of fifteen, he began teaching. For 
more than thirty years he was engaged in this 
profession, and, with the exception of a single 
year, confined his efforts to Plymouth County. 
For several years he was connected with the 
mills at Fall Brook and Rock, where he has 
resided since 1866. 

In politics Captain Atwood is a Republi- 
cnn, and he has been very influential in town 
affairs, serving in many important local 
offices, namely: as Justice of the Peace over 
forty-five years; Surveyor, forty years; Se- 
lectman and Overseer of the Poor, three years; 
School Committee several years; and also as 
Auditor and Assessor. Having an excellent 
knowledge of law, he was often called upon 
during his official term as Selectman to settle 
estates. He is a member of the Methodist 
church at Middleboro. 

In 1841 Captain Atwood married Miss Abi- 
gail Thomas, of Middleboro. Four children 
were born of this union, and all of them are 
now living; namely, Emery F. , Charles N., 
Harvey N., and Hannah Z. 




LDEN ROUNKSVILLE, a prosperous 
lumber manufacturer of Rochester, 
Mass., was born April 10, 1827, in 
Freetown, Bristol County, son of Alden and 
Cornelia (Ashley) Rounesville. When he 
was thirteen years old he went to Rochester 
to live, and there acquired his education in 
the district school and at Rochester Academy. 
At the age of si.xteen he shipped before the 
mast on a whaling vessel bound for the Indian 
Ocean, and was out twenty-seven months. 
Although life on a whaler is a hard one, the 
travel and adventure, the excitement of the 
pursuit and capture of the ocean leviathan, 
pleased the latl, anil ho shipped for another 



484 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



voyage. This time he sailed over both the 
Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, being gone 
twenty-five months and five days. On his 
return to New Bedford in 1849, he was in- 
terested by the stories of fortunes to be had 
for the taking in the gold fields of California, 
and at the first opportunity shipped on a sail- 
ing-vessel bound for the new El Dorado by 
the Cape route. Mr. RounesviJle engaged in 
prospecting and mining with varying results, 
and remained until February, 1853, when he 
returned by way of the Isthmus. After stay- 
ing a short time in Rochester he shipped once 
more on a whaling vessel. During this voyage 
he was third mate, and was out one year. He 
next joined a vessel at Honolulu as first mate, 
prolonging his absence from home, and was on 
the sea some two and a half years more. On 
the next voyage, which was his last, he sailed 
as first mate. He was gone eighteen months 
whaling in both the Atlantic and the Pacific 
Oceans. Having visited almost every known 
quarter of the globe, and met all sorts and 
conditions of men, he settled down in his 
present home in Rochester, among the friends 
and associations of his childhood. At first he 
engaged in the manufacture of lumber and 
grist-milling. His grist-mill was destroyed 
by fire in 1881, since which time he has de- 
voted himself mainly to the lumber indus- 
try. His chief products are box boards and 
shingles. He also carries on general farming, 
owning eleven hundred acres in the town of 
Rochester, and four hundred acres in other 
places. 

In 1854 Mr. Rounesville was married to 
Miss Rosie Gammons, who has borne him 
five children — Frances, Arthur, Ella, Horace, 
and Albert. Ella is now deceased. Mr. 
Rounesville, who is a Republican in politics, 
and has served as Selectman of Rochester for 
twelve years, is widely known and respected. 




ARREN B. STETSON, shoe manu- 
facturer, of Middleboro, Mass., is 
one of the prominent and influential 
citizens of this place, active in all movements 
of public importance. A son of David B. and 
Abigail (Spear) Stetson, he was born in 
Quincy, Mass., September 26, 1842. 

David B. Stetson was born in Weymouth, 
Mass. He was in trade in (Juincy for fifty- 
four years, and no other merchant in the place 
had so long a record. He died in Middleboro 
in 1895, ^^ ^^^ ^gs of seventy-eight. His 
wife, Mrs. Abigail S. Stetson, died in 1864, 
aged forty-eight years. Five children com- 
pleted the household circle of Mr. and Mrs. 
David B. Stetson: Warren B. ; Abbie E., 
wife of H. O. Studley, of Quincy; Arthur 
Lorin, who died when about four and a half 
years old, a remarkable child, who could solve 
on a slate the most intricate mathematical 
problems; Ella Lorin, who is now managing 
the store in Quincy, the business being still 
conducted, by his request, in her father's 
name; and Arthur Woodward, also living in 
Quincy. 

Warren B. Stetson, the subject of this 
sketch, attended school in Quincy, taking a 
high rank in scholarship, and graduated at the 
high school at the age of sixteen as saluta- 
torian. The storm of secession was brewing 
during his last years of study, and the firing 
on Fort Sumter aroused many of the Quincy 
school boys to take up arms for the Union. 
Young Stetson was one of these. On May 
16, 1 861, he enlisted in Company B, Thir- 
teenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the 
r^ourth Battalion of Rifles being the nucleus 
from which the regiment was formed. His 
term of enlistment was three years, but was 
cut short on account of illness. After the 
second battle of Bull Run he was in Fairfax 
Seminary Hospital, and when able to go about 




L^-c^. /rr <^<z-Z'-i^-«^-»-^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



487 



he was employed as steward, nurse, surgeon's 
assistant, and clerk in the dispensary; but his 
Iiealth was very poor, and on December 31, 
1862, ho was discharged on account of dis- 
al)ility. 

After a season of recuperation at home he 
offered himself again, but was rejected, being 
physically too weak for military service. He 
was tlicn employed as travelling salesman for 
a large shoe firm in l?oston, and subsequently 
acted in the same capacity for another house, 
giving some three years and a half to this 
line of effort. At the end of that time he 
started in business for himself, opening a re- 
tail shoe store in Stamford, Conn., which he 
successfully mamged for thirteen years and a 
half. He then removed to North Middleboro, 
and later to Middleboro, buying in 1879 ^^^ 
business of E. E. Perkins & Son. In 1882 
he established his factory at its present loca- 
tion. Mr. Stetson thoroughly understands the 
cpiality and make-up of shoes of all grades, 
and has been very successful in business. 

He married Miss Margaret H. Hoyt, of 
Concord, N.H., and has five children — Will- 
iam W., Maybelle Howe, Ella H., Arthur O., 
and lulward L. He has been a Republican 
since qualified to exercise the right of suf- 
frage, and he cast his first Presidential vote for 
Abraham Lincoln. In local politics he takes 
an active interest; and for the past twelve 
years he has been in office, serving alternately 
as Chairman and as Secretary of the Republi- 
can Town Committee. He is now serving a 
second term as member of the Board of Regis- 
tration. As a Mason he has taken ten de- 
grees, and is a member of Union Lodge, No. 
5, of Stamford, Conn.; Rittcnhouse Chapter, 
No. 11; and of Washington Council, No. 6, 
of the same place. He belongs to the Im- 
proved Order of Red Men; and as a Grand 
Army man he has long been active and promi- 



nent. He is historian of E. W. Pierce Post, 
No. 8, and was Commander of the post during 
the erection of the beautiful Soldiers" Monu- 
ment in Middleboro, which cost about four 
thousand, two hundred dollars. Mr. Stetson 
was the originator and one of the agents in the 
movement to erect it, collecting funds, and 
working enthusiastically and successfully for 
its completion. He is a zealous member of 
the Central Baptist Church, and a teacher in 
the Sunday-school. 




. GEORGE W. EM1:RV, now 
resident of Marshfield, Mass., was 
the Governor of L'tah, who so ably 
piloted the Territory through the most trying 
period of its history. He was born August 
'3. '833, in Corinth, near Bangor, Me., son 
of Oliver Hubbard and Hannah Osgood (Por- 
ter) Emery. When he was si.x years of age 
his parents removed to Berwick, Me., his 
father's native town, and not very long after- 
ward they removed from Berwick to Mcdford, 
Mass., where the family lived for nearly fifty 
years, and where his father and mother died 
and are buried. 

Mr. Emery comes of Puritan stock by both 
parents. On the father's side he belongs to 
the eighth generation descended from Anthony 
Emery, who came to Boston in the ship 
"James," June, 1635; while on his mother's 
side he is of the eighth generation descended 
from John Porter, who also left £;ngland in 
1635, and settled in Hingham, Mass. Mr. 
Emery's mother was a daughter of Nathaniel 
Porter, a native of Ipswich, Mass., who was 
a Revolutionary soldier; and she was a kins- 
woman of the Johnsons, the Osgoods, the Put- 
nams, the Endicotts, the Woodburys, and the 
Dodges and Ingallses, of Esse.\ County. The 
blood relations on his father's side were tiie 



488 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Lords, the Hoopers, the Hubbards, the God- 
wins, the Chadbourncs, and the Stacys of 
York County, Maine. Two of Mr. Emery's 
great-uncles served under the famous naval 
hero, Paul Jones, one being his sailing- 
master. 

George W. Emery's preparatory course for 
college was begun at the Literary Institute in 
New Hampton, N. H., and continued at Colby 
Academy, New London, N.H. Here he was 
graduated in June, 1854, being the only pupil 
who had that honor. In the same year he 
entered Dartmouth College, where, after com- 
pleting a four years' course, he was graduated 
in the class of 1858. Without loss of time he 
then pursued a full course at the Law School 
at Albany, N.Y. ; was graduated with the 
deoree of LL. B. ; was admitted to the bar in 
that State; and immediately entered the law 
office of the late General Benjamin F. Butler 
in Boston. 

In 1865, after the close of the Civil War, 
abandoning the legal profession, Mr. Emery 
went to Nashville, Tenn., and engaged in 
planting and milling. The bitter feeling 
with which all Northern men were then, and 
for many years afterward, regarded in the 
South, was manifested in his case by the burn- 
ing of his mill in 1868. In 1869 he was 
appointed Supervisor of Internal Revenue. 
The district at first placed under his charge 
was gradually extended until it included the 
States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Te.xas. He had 
under him more than twenty-five hundred men, 
whose appointment came from Washington, 
D.C., and he had the care of six hundred and 
twenty-five registered grain distilleries in 
Kentucky alone, besides a large number of 
fruit distilleries. He had also a standing 
order from the Secretary of War, directed to 
the commanders of all the military posts in 



his district, instructing them to render all the 
assistance he might deem necessary to enforce 
the law; and this required at times from five 
to ten squads of cavalry. 

This enlargement of his authority was elo- 
quent testimony to his fitness for the office, 
whose duties no ordinary man could then dis- 
charge. It was in the "reconstruction times," 
when the civil agents of the Federal govern- 
ment were frequently resisted with outrage and 
murder, and the Kuklux Klan was pursuing its 
career of crime. Combining the executive 
ability desirable in a military leader with the 
tact and resource that should characterize a 
diplomat, while now and again compelled to 
call the troops to his aid. Supervisor Emery 
amply justified the confidence of the national 
government. During his residence in Ten- 
nessee he was for several years Chairman of 
the Republican Executive Committee of the 
State. While in the South he became per- 
sonally acquainted with many of the leaders of 
the late Confederacy, among them its Presi- 
dent, Jefferson Davis, with whom he often 
conversed. 

President Grant was so well pleased with 
Mr. P^mery's services as Supervisor of Internal 
Revenue in the Southern States mentioned, 
that, of his own volition, without a word of 
suggestion from Mr. Emery, he, in the spring 
of 1875, appointed him Governor of Utah. 

At the time Governor Emery went to Utah 
all the elective offices in that Territory were 
filled by the Mormons, they being largely in 
the majority over the Gentiles, as they called 
all who were not of their faith. Three biennial 
legislatures held their sessions during his 
term of office. Every member of these legis- 
latures was a Mormon, and all but three were 
living in polgyamy. The Governor had the 
absolute veto power, Utah being the only 
State or Territory where that power existed. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



489 



It was a current saying among members of the 
legislature that, "it was the Governor against 
the Mormons"; and it was only through him 
that the Gentiles could expect any legislation 
favorable to themselves. From the time of 
Brigham Young, who was the first governor, 
there had been a constant conflict between the 
Executive and members of the legislature, 
the result being that but little legislation had 
been enacted that was beneficial. The laws 
previously enacted hail not been compiled. 
The session laws were published in pamphlet 
form, and tied together with red tape, this 
bundle of pamphlets containing all the laws 
that had been enacted, modified, or repealed 
up to this date. The consequence was that 
neither judges nor lawyers knew what the law 
was on any subject, especially that portion of 
the statutes relating to the criminal law, and 
as a further consequence there were then only 
three convicts in the penitentiary. Another 
untoward circumstance lay in the fact that the 
'I'eiTJtory was badly in debt. Territorial scrip 
had really no value except for payment of 
ta.xes at thirty-five cents on the dollar. 

Governor Emery, however, did not disap- 
point the hopes placed in him. His success- 
ful administration is now a matter of hi.story. 
Its earlier part was a stormy period in Salt 
Lake City. Exercising his absolute veto 
l^ower, he rendered nugatory more than half 
the legislation passed at the first session of 
the legislature under his governorship. The 
effect of this stern resistance was seen in the 
diminished aggressiveness of subsequent ses- 
sions, but the struggle continued for some time 
after. When Governor Emery left L'tah, ter- 
ritoral scrip was as good as greenbacks; and 
instead of three convicts in the penitentiary 
there were eighty-seven. Several executions 
took place during his administration, among 
them that of John D. Lee, who was connected 



with the Mountain Meadow Massacre, he being 
the only one of the i)artici])ants that was tried 
and convicted for that offence. 

The latter part of the Governor's adminis- 
tration, which lasted five years, was compara- 
tively quiet and pleasant for him. Among his 
visitors in Salt Lake City were President 
Grant and family; a number of Senators and 
members of Congress; Dom Pedro, the Em- 
peror of Brazil; Lord and Lady Dufferin ; Sir 
George Bowen, Governor-general of Australia; 
distinguished military men, among them Gen- 
erals Sherman and Sheridan; various lords and 
their ladies from abroad; and men eminent in 
science and literature. All these were guests 
of the Governor. Upon his departure from 
the Territory, he received from the representa- 
tive people a souvenir of his stay in the form 
of a valuable watch, bearing the inscription, 
"Presented to Governor lunery by his friends 
in Utah, regardless of party"; and some time 
after, the legislature testified its respect for 
him by giving his name to a new county. 

On April 11, 1S66, Mr. Emery was united 
in marriage with Miss Marcia Ives Hall, 
daughter of Samuel and Huldah Barstow 
(Sherman) Hall, of Boston. He has one 
child, a son, I-" rank Hall lilmery, who was born 
in Boston, May 6, 1867. Mrs. Emery's 
parents are now deceased. Her father was a 
distinguished ship-builder, and President of 
the Maverick Bank of lioston until his death. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Flmery aflfiliate with the 
Congregational church. 

After leaving Salt Lake City for the East, 
Governor Emery settled in that part of Marsh- 
field called Sea View, where he has a beauti- 
ful country seat. The commodious dwelling, 
built by himself in 18^55-86, is picturesquely 
situated on a sightly elevation near the shore, 
surrounded by extensive grounds, embracing 
several hundred acres diversified with trees 



490 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and shrubbery, which form a part of his es- 
tate. 

The Hon. George W. Emery is held in the 
highest esteem by his neighbors in Marshfield. 
In politics he has supported the Republican 
party ever since he attained his majority. 
He takes a practical interest in farming, and 
was for several years President of the Marsh - 
field Agricultural Society. He is a Trustee of 
the New England Agricultural Society, and a 
member of the Marshall P. Wilder Club, the 
oldest dining-club in Massachusetts. He was 
made a Mason in Massachusetts Lodge, A. 
F. & A. M. , of Boston. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Ex-Governor Emery is a good illustration of 
the sagacious remark that the country will 
never lack for Presidential timber so long as 
we have our State and Territorial governments 
on which to raise it. 



WAI^D LI 
five of 



TTCHFIELD, a representa- 
one of the oldest families of 
Scituate, who died at his home in 
Egypt, Plymouth County, Mass., January 24, 
1892, was born in Scituate, September 11, 
1 8 19, son of Thomas and Mabel (Vinal) 
Litchfield. His parents were natives of Scit- 
uate, and his grandfather, Deacon Ward 
Litchfield, was in his day one of the best- 
known residents of this town. 

Ward Litchfield was educated in the public 
schools of his native town. When fourteen 
years old he went to Ouincy, Mass., where he 
served an apprenticeship of five years at the 
painter's trade, which he followed subse- 
quently as a journeyman in Boston. He was 
later engaged as a contracting painter in 
Ouincy for a number of years, and in 1853 h^ 
established himself in the same business in 
Scituate. For many years he conducted a 



successful business, doing a large amount of 
contract work; and he also owned and culti- 
vated a farm of forty acres. In politics he 
acted with the Republican party, but his 
modest and retiring disposition prevented him 
from taking any active part in public affairs. 
His upright character and strict adherence to 
principle won the sincere respect and admira- 
tion of his acquaintances, and his death, 
which took place upon the date above men- 
tioned, at the age of nearly seventy-three 
years, was the cause of general regret. On 
January i, 1845, ^^^'- Litchfield was united in 
marriage with Miss Angeline Woods, who was 
born in Mount Vernon, Kennebec County, 
Me., a daughter of Henry and Hannah (Cram) 
Woods. Her parents were natives of Maine. 
Mrs. Litchfield still occupies the homestead, 
and is highly respected in this town. She has 
an adopted daughter, Ella F. She attends 
the Congregational church. 




>HILEMON W. MAGLATHLIN, 
one of the representative business 
men of Plymouth County, and a 
member of the firm of F. W. Maglathlin & 
Co., tack manufacturers of Kingston, was born 
in this town, July 12, 1844, son of Peter W. 
and Marcia G. (Bradford) Maglathlin. The 
family was founded in America by John 
Maglathlin, a Scotchman, who settled in 
Kingston during the Colonial period. He 
died here in 1772, and his mortal remains 
were buried in the old Kingston Cemetery. 
His son Joseph, who was born in Kingston, 
was Philemon W. Maglathlin's great-grand- 
father; and his son, Peter W., first, was Mr. 
Maglathlin's grandfather. He was a native of 
Kingston, and was a seafaring man. 

The second Peter W. Maglathlin, son of 
the first, and father of the subject of this 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



401 



sketch, was born in Kingston; and liis wife, 
Marcia G. Bradford, was a native of Maine. 
He learned the trade of a ship calker, and fol- 
lowed this occupation in connection with 
farming, making his home in Kingston until 
his death, which took place in the seventies. 
He was a man of considerable prominence in 
local public affairs, and served as a member of 
the School Committee. In politics he was 
originally a VVhig, and later a Republican. 
He was twice married, antl of his children the 
following survive: Harvey W. ; Philemon VV., 
the subject of this sketch; Onslow W. ; 
Edwin W. ; and Horace B. — all of Kingston; 
Angle, wife of Elliott Blanchard, of Turner, 
Me.; and Helen A., wife of Barker Baker, of 
North Hanson, Mass. 

Philemon W., the second son, as above 
named, acquired a good practical education in 
the public schools of Kingston, and grew to 
manhood in this town. At the age of twenty- 
two he went to Worcester, Mass., where he 
began to learn the mason's trade. After serv- 
ing an apprenticeship of over three years, he 
worked at the trade in Worcester for five 
years. He then became master mason for the 
Old Colony Railroad Company, and for twenty- 
three years had full charge of the work in his 
line completed by that company. In 1894 he 
erected and equipped a building in Kingston 
for the manufacture of tacks, putting in im- 
proved machinery, and organizing the firm of 
F. W. Maglathlin & Co., consisting of P. W. 
Maglathlin and his son, V. W. Maglathlin, 
has since carried on a large and successful 
business. 

On April 26, 1863, Mr. Maglathlin married 
Mahala !•;. Bonney, of Kingston. She is a 
daughter of John and Mary (Maglathlin) 
Bonney, the former of whom was born in Han- 
son, Mass., and the latter in Pembroke. Mrs. 
Magiathlin's father is still residing in Kings- 



ton, and her mother is no longer living. She 
has one brother, Charles F. A. Bonney, who 
is a resident of this town. Mr. and Mrs. 
Maglathlin have three children ^ l-'rank W., 
Elizabeth F. , and Grace W. 

In politics Mr. Maglathlin is a Republican, 
and has served with ability as a member of the 
School Committee. He takes an active inter- 
est in the general improvement 'of the town, 
and has an extended acquaintance throughout 
the county. He is a self-made man who 
owes his success in life to his own personal 
efforts and he has every reason to be proud of 
the result. He occupies one of the finest 
residences in Kingston, situated on Summer 
Street, in the outskirts of the village, and the 
family enjoy cordial social relations. Mr. 
Maglathlin is a member of Adams Lodge, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. 



'sj^OSHUA WESTON, formerly in busi- 
ness as a ship-calker in Boston, now a 
retired resident of Du.xbury, Mass., was 
born in this town, October 20, 18 18, son of 
Asa and Eunice (Bradford) Weston. The 
family, which is of ICnglish origin, descends 
from an early settler in Duxbury; and Joshua 
Weston's grandfather, Asa Weston, first, is 
said to have served in the war for indepen- 
dence. 

Asa Weston, second, Mr. Joshua Weston's 
father, was a native and lifelong resident of 
Duxbury. In his younger days he followed 
the sea, and for a number of years he was 
master of a vessel engaged in making fishing 
voyages to the Grand Banks of New Found - 
land. His wife, who was before marriage 
Eunice Brailford, and was a native of Dux- 
bury, became the mother of several children, 
of whom five are living, namely: Bradford; 
Joshua, the subject of this sketch; George; 



492 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



William; and Selina, wife of Daniel W. 
Symmes — all of whom are residents of Dux- 
bury. 

Joshua resided with his parents until he was 
eleven years old, and then went to live with 
his uncle, George Bradford, in Vermont, 
where he remained for over three years. He 
acquired a common-school education, and after 
his return to his native town he was for some 
three years engaged in the fishing industry. 
He then learned the ship-calker's trade in 
Kingston, and later established himself in 
that business in Boston, having for a partner 
Daniel T. Samson. The firm of Samson & 
Weston, whose office was located at 317 Com- 
mercial Street, carried on a large and profit- 
able business as shipwrights and calkers for 
several years. They finally admitted Syl- 
vester Goodwin as a partner, and some time 
later Mr. Weston withdrew from the firm, and 
conducted business upon his own account until 
1886, when he retired. He had always made 
Duxbury his summer home, and since his re- 
tirement he has resided here permanently. 

Mr. Weston has" been twice married. His 
first wife was Olive A. Jones, a native of 
Monmouth, Me. ; and his present wife, whom 
he wedded in 1855, was before marriage Cor- 
delia W. Bailey. Her father was a native of 
Nantes, France, and served as a soldier under 
Bonaparte. By this union there are two chil- 
dren, namely: Annie W. ; and Joshua B., 
who is now a merchant at 29 Arch Street, 
Boston. 

During his business career Mr. Weston re- 
sided in East Boston, and for four years he was 
a member of the Common Council of Boston 
from Ward i. In politics he supports the 
Democratic party. He has advanced in Ma- 
sonry to the Royal Arch degree, and is a 
member of St. John's Chapter of East Boston. 
Like the majority of prosperous business men, 



he has made his own way in life, and as the 
result of his industry is able to pass his de- 
clining years in rest and recreation in his na- 
tive town, where he is respected and esteemed 
by the entire community. 



/^^Teorge H. WEATHERBEE, of 
\^J Marshfield Hills, Clerk and Treas- 
urer of the town of Marshfield, was 
born in Boston, Mass., November 29, 183 1, 
son of George II. and Sarah B. (Clapp) 
Weatherbee. The Weatherbees are of Scotch 
extraction. John Weatherbee resided in 
Billerica, Mass., and in that town his son, 
George H. Weatherbee, Sr. , was born. 

This gentleman settled in East Marshfield 
now Marshfield Hills, about 1832, and was 
engaged in mercantile business here for a 
number of years, at the same time extensively 
manufacturing ready-made clothing for An- 
drew Carney, of Boston, Mass. He was a 
very successful business man. About 1857 he 
removed to Scituate, where he died in 1877. 
While residing in Marshfield he was Overseer 
of the Poor for a number of years. His wife 
was born in Scituate. Of their children, the 
following are living: George H., the father's 
namesake; Sarah B., widow of Elisha W. 
Hall, late a prominent citizen of Marshfield 
Hills; Georgiana, wife of Daniel Howard, of 
South Natick, Mass. ; Amanda, wife of S. N. 
Bissel, of Providence, R.L ; and John, in 
Scituate, Mass. 

George H., the elder son and the special 
subject of this sketch, was one year old when 
his parents came to East Marshfield, and in 
this town he acquired his education, attending 
public and private schools. When he was 
sixteen years old he entered the employ of 
Haughton, Sawyer & Co., a dry-goods firm of 
Boston, Mass., and was with them five years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



493 



Retuniinji then to I'^ast Marshfield, he was in 
trade for a miinber of j'ears as partner with 
I-'iisha \V. Hall, under the firm name of Hall 
& Weatherbee. lie subsequently started an 
independent mercantile business in East 
Marshfield, which was very successful. Mr. 
Weatherbee is practically a self-made man, 
and has carved his fortune with his own hands, 
lie is Treasurer of the Railroad Sinking 
Fund of Marshfield. 

On January 13, 1859, he was united in 
marriage with Martha VV. Bartlett, of Plym- 
outh, Mass., a descendant of John Alden, 
whose quaint romance has been made famous 
by the poet Longfellow. Six children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weatherbee, 
namely: Martha B. (deceased); Mabel R., 
wife of W. C. Boyden, sub-master of the 
Girls' Normal School at Boston, son of Pro- 
fessor A. G. Ikiyden, ]irincipal of the State 
Normal School, Bridgevvater; Blanche, assist- 
ant teacher in the West Ro.\bury High 
School at Jamaica Plain, Boston, Mass. ; 
Alice, wife of S. C. Morehouse, of Fair- 
field, Conn. ; Charles G., a grammar school 
principal in Newton Upper Falls, Mass.; 
and George, a civil engineer employed in 
Brockton, Mass. 

Mr. Weatherbee, who is a Republican, has 
been in office as Town Clerk and Treasurer 
since 1894, and is also clerk of the Registry 
of Voters and a Justice of the Peace. He has 
been a member of the School Committee for 
six years. As a Mason he belongs to Corner 
Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Duxbury. 
He is a member of the Unitarian Society, and 
for some fifteen years was Sunday-school 
superintendent. In every |)osition which he 
has occupied he has performed his duties faith- 
fully and efficiently, and no citizen of Marsh- 
field stands higher than he in the esteem of 
his fellow -men. 




XPTAIN zi:nas H. CROCKKR, 

proprietor and jnianager of a lumber 
and coal yard at Marion, Plymouth 
County, was born August 25, 1845, in the 
village of Wareham, a son of Walton N. and 
Elizabeth (Swift) Crocfcer. 

He was educated in the public schools of 
Wareham. At the age of seventeen years he 
shipped before the mast on board a merchant 
vessel, on which he remained two years. He 
gradually worked his way upward to the posi- 
tion of second mate, thence being promoted to 
that of first mate, and at the age of twenty- 
seven years he was givei) command of a vessel. 
For twenty years thereafter he sailed as 
master of different vessels, in some of which 
he was part owner, being engaged in general 
freighting and in foreign trade, his ventures 
proving generally successful. In 1891 the 
captain retired from seafaring pursuits, and 
two years later removed to Marion, where he 
has since carried on a thriving business as a 
dealer in lumber ami coal. Captain Crocker 
is a firm Democrat politically. He is identi- 
fied with the Masonic fraternity, being a mem- 
ber of Pythagorean Lodge, of Marion. Re- 
ligiously, he is a communicant of the Epis- 



copal church. Capta 
Mary H. Hathaway, ( 



solemnized January 6, 



n Crocker married Miss 
aughter of Captain John 



K. Hathaway, of Mrrion, their union being 



1896. 




ATHANIEL WILLIAMS GUSHING, 
a former resident of Hanson, was born 
- N^ ^ there January 29, 18 12, son of 
Charles and Abigail (Collamore) Gushing. 
The family is of English origin, the earliest 
known ancestor, having been Peter Gushing, 
of Norfolk, England. Peter's son, Matthew, 
who was born in 1 58S, embarked in tiie gooil 
ship "Diligent,"' with his wife and five chil- 



494 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



drcn for America in 1638. He first settled 
in Boston, but moved to Hingham, Mass., in 
1 660. His son John, born in England in 
1627, was for many years a Deputy in the 
Plymouth Colonial Council. After the colo- 
nies were united he served as Representative 
in the legislature. He married Sarah, daugh- 
ter of Nicholas Jacobs, and settled in Scituate, 
Mass., where he died in 1708. 

The next in the ancestral line was John 
Cushing, Jr., who was born in 1662, and died 
in 1737. He was Justice of the Superior 
Court of Plymouth County from 17 10 to 1728, 
and thereafter Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court until his death. He married Deborah 
Loring, of Hull, Mass., by whom he became 
the father of Elijah Cushing. Elijah located 
in that part of Pembroke, now included in the 
town of Hanson, and there spent the remainder 
of his days upon a hired farm. His son Na- 
thaniel, by his wife, Elizabeth (Barstow) 
Parker, was a farmer and lifelong resident of 
Hanson. Nathaniel was united in marriage 
with Eucy Turner, and their son Charles, a 
native of Hanson, born in 1770, at the age of 
sixteen years settled on a farm in the west 
precinct of Pembroke, now included in the 
northern part of this town. Here he spent 
the remainder of his life, and died in April, 
1843, at the age of seventy-three. He mar- 
ried Abigail Collamore, of Scituate, who sur- 
vived him but two days. 

After acquiring a good education, Nathaniel 
W. Cushing became a teacher. He inherited 
the old home acres, and thereon subsequently 
became a successful farmer. In politics he 
was a Whig, until the formation of the Re- 
publican party, when he joined that organiza- 
tion. He was much interested in the cause 
of education, and rendered efficient service as 
a member of the School Committee for many 
years. Being a great reader, he was well 



posted on current events. Of a genial dispo- 
sition, his guests found in him a cordial en- 
tertainer. He died P'ebruary 21, 1895, in 
Hanson, of which he had been a lifelong resi- 
dent. He was twice married. On the first 
occasion he was united to Sally Blake, of 
South Abington, Mass., who died in 1839. 
The maiden name of his second wife was 
Rachel C. Thomas. Her parents were Ira 
and Betsy (Cushing) Thomas. She died Jan- 
uary 22, 1892, leaving four children — Sally 
Blake, Charles, Nathaniel, and Frederick. 
Sally now occupies the old homestead; 
Charles, who resides in Neponset, Mass., mar- 
ried Alice T. Briggs, daughter of Thomas and 
Eliza A. Briggs, of North Pembroke, and 
grand -daughter of Esquire Alden I^riggs, and 
has had two children — Eucy Turner and 
Annie T. ; Nathaniel married Mary S. 
Holmes, of Pembroke, and has one daugh- 
ter, Maude T; Frederick married Elvina 
V. PLllis, of Wareham, and has one son, 
Frederick Arthur. 




lELIAM H. MYRICK, an enter- 
prising and successful hardware 
merchant of Kingston, was born in 
Orleans on Cape Cod, April 17, 1834, son of 
Captain William and Mary (Cobb) Myrick. 
Both parents were natives of Cape Cod. 
The father, who followed the sea for the 
greater part of his life, becoming a ship- 
master in the merchant service, passed his 
last years in Duxbury, Mass., where he died 
in his eightieth year. His wife, Mary, was a 
daughter of Captain Elkanah Cobb, a native 
of Cape Cod, who became a sea captain when 
he was twenty-one years old, and served in the 
United States Navy during the War of 18 12. 
Mr. Myrick has in his possession a chair capt- 
ured by Captain Cobb in a naval fight of that 





ISRAEL OAKMAN. 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



497 



period. The Captain spent his last years in 
Kastham, Cape Cod. The surviving children 
of Captain Myrick are: William II., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; James, a resident of Dux- 
bury; and Jerusha, the wife of Rufus Halli- 
day, of Uuxhury. 

After attending- the common schools of iJux- 
hury in his early boyhood, William H. Myrick 
considerably increased his stock of knowledge 
by a carefully selected course of reading. At 
the age of eleven years he shipped on a fish- 
ing-vessel bound for the (hand Ranks. After- 
ward he spent four summers engaged as cook 
upon similar voyages, and in the winter he 
went to sea on a coaster. When eighteen 
years old he began to serve an apprenticeship 
of three years at the tinner's trade with W. R. 
Drew in Plymouth. After his time expired 
he served as foreman of the shop for a year. 
Then he opened a tinware store in Kingston, 
where he has since remained in business. As 
trade increased he enlarged his facilities, and 
added hardware to his stock. At the present 
time he carries a full line of hardware, tin, 
and crockery ware, and has a large and profit- 
able business. In 187S he erected the Myrick 
Block, in which his store is now located. 

Mr. Myrick wedded Frances D. Weston, 
daughter of the late Captain Ilarvcy Weston, 
of I'lymouth. Born of the union were five 
children, of whom William W. and Mary 
!"■ ranees are living. Mary married George 
l-'rederick .Stand ish, and they live in King- 
ston. Mrs. Myrick died .August 12, 1884. 
Mr. Myrick is a member of the Unitarian 
church. In politics he is an active supporter 
of the Republican party, am! he has ably 
served upon the .School Committee and as 
Overseer of the I'oor. He is a Mason of 
Corner Stone Lodge of Duxbur\'. A progres- 
sive and public-spiriteil citizen, who can be 
depended upon for aid in forwarding any meas- 



ure introduced for the benefit of the commu- 
nity, he is highly esteemed in the town. 



JSRAKL OAKMAN, contractor and 
builder, of North Marshfield, is a 
member of one of the old and reputal)le 
families which constitute so large a part of 
the population of this ancient I'lymouth 
County town, a portion of the ancestral dwell- 
ing in which he resides, and which was his 
birthplace, having been built about two hun- 
dred years ago. He was born February 18, 
1828. His parent.s. Constant and Wealthy 
(Carver) Oakman, were both natives of Marsh- 
field. (For further particulars of the earlier 
generations of the Oakman family, see biog- 
raphy of Colonel Hiram A. Oakman given in 
this work.) 

Constant Oakman, who was a farmer, was a 
lifelong resident of Marshfield, his homestead 
being the one now occupied by the subject of 
this sketch. An upright, kind-hearted man, 
he was widely known and esteemed, and in 
the latter part of his life was commonly called 
Uncle Constant by all who knew him. He 
took a very active part in local politics, favor- 
ing the Democratic side in his last years. 
He was a member of the Unitarian church. 
His death occurred in March, 1877, his wife 
having passed away in 1S65. Three of their 
children survive, namely: Israel; Howard 
W., residing in Boston; and Rachel B., wife 
of Andrew L. Damon, of Marshfield. 

Israel Oakman received his education in the 
common schools of Marshfield. He began to 
learn the carpenter's trade when eighteen 
years old, and served an ajiprenticeship of 
nearly three years with .Samuel G. Alden, a 
contractor and builder of Fast Bridgewater. 
who at that time managed an extensive busi- 
ness. After finishing his apprenticeship, 



498 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Oakman was employed for a number of 
years as a journeyman, and then started in 
business as a contractor and builder in East 
Boston. There he remained for a number of 
years, returning to Marshficld in 1856. A 
skilled workman and upright business man, 
Mr. Oakman has the confidence of the public, 
and in the past forty years has erected a great 
many builtlings in this locality. He remod- 
elled his own residence in 1856-57, and 
has made many improvements on the farm — 
a generous estate of one hundred and thirty 
acres. 

He was married in 1852 to Anstrice W. 
Hatch, a native of North Marshfield, daughter 
of Samuel and Laura (Hatch) Hatch. Mr. 
Hatch, who was a saw-mill proprietor and 
farmer, died in 1881, and his wife followed 
him in 1882. Of their children two besides 
Mrs. Oakman are living — Marcellus and Sam- 
uel F. Hatch. Mrs. Oakman graduated from 
the Bridgewater Normal School in 1848. 
She is the mother of three children: Ida A., 
wife of Theodore Moorehead, in the custom- 
house service in China; Israel H., in Marsh- 
field, Mass.; and Emmeline L, wife of Nel- 
son E. Bryant, also a custom-house employee 
in China. Israel H. Oakman was born Au- 
gust 5, 1S57. He married November 25, 
1883, P"annie T. Damon, daughter of Gran- 
ville D. and I'Vances (Tilden) Damon. They 
have four children now living; namely, 
Philip B., Wealthy C, Walter P., and 
Israel H., Jr.; and they have been bereft of 
three — Theresa Louise, Florence Tilden, and 
Irving Howard. Israel H. and his family 
live in the old Oakman house with his father, 
his children representing the sixth generation 
that has occupied the homestead. 

In politics Mr. Oakman is independent, vot- 
ing on principle, and not on party feeling. 
He has served as Constable in Marshfield. 



He and his wife attend service at the Unita- 
rian church. 

They have a wide circle of acquaintance, 
and are highly esteemed members of society. 




LIJAH T. CLAPP, a highly esteemed 
resident of Greenbush, was born in 
Scituate, Mass., .September 8, 1S26, 
son of Elijah and Harriet (Ford) Clapp, both 
likewise natives of Scituate. He is a lineal 
descendant of the Dorchester Clapps. Roger 
Clapp, who was the founder of the family, 
emigrated from Dorchester, England, and 
landed at Hull, Mass., about the year 1630. 
He subsequently became a military com- 
mander of Boston, and owned a large estate in 
Dorchester, Mass., where many of his de- 
scendants are still residing. Both paternal 
and maternal ancestors of Elijah T. Clapp 
served as soldiers in the French and Indian 
Wars, and in the struggle for independence. 
Thomas Clapp, his grandfather, who was a na- 
tive of Scituate, and a tenant farmer on the 
Stockbridge estate in this town for many 
years, served as a Captain in the War of 181 2. 
His father, Elijah Clapp, who followed the 
trade of blacksmith during the active period 
of his life, died in bis eighty-ninth year. His 
mother lived to be nearly ninety years old. 
The other surviving children of his parents 
are: Julia, the wife of George Spaulding, of 
Boston; and Mercy F. , the wife of George 
Manson, oi East Boston. His brother, Pelcg 
F., who served as a soldier throughout the 
Civil War, participating in several important 
battles, died in 1895. 

Elijah T. Clapp acquired a meagre educa- 
tion in the schools of Greenbush. At the 
age of thirteen he began to learn the black- 
smith's trade with his father. Afterward, 
succeeding his father, he followed it until he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



499 



was sixty-five years old. He, in turn, has 
been succeccled by his son, William H. Clapp, 
who is also engaged in the grain and ice busi- 
ness. His shop was the first blacksmith's 
stand established in Greenbush. He owns 
the old Stockbridge mill, together with the 
land in the vicinity of the pond which is 
named after the Stockbridge family. In the 
winter season he does quite an extensive busi- 
ness in sawing shingles. 

Mr. Clapp wedded Ann R., daughter of 
Thomas Clapp, and became the father of seven 
children — Elijah T. Clapp, Jr., Helen A., 
William H., Harriet V., Everett L., Richard, 
and I-'rederick. Helen A. is the wife of 
Erederick Rogers ; and Erederick is now de- 
ceased. In politics Mr. Clapp is a Republi- 
can. He contributed much toward securing 
the many improvements which have taken 
place in Scituate during his time. His suc- 
cess in life has been attained through industry 
and perseverance. In his religious views he is 
an orthodox Congregationalist, and he is a 
member of the society of that denomination at 
Scituate Centre. 



-|r:^OBERT II. MOOREHEAD, now 
I S[^ living in retirement, was formerly a 
Lv V ^ prominent business man in Marsh- 
tield. He was born August 30, 18 14, in 
Duxbury, this county, son of John and Dinah 
(Miller) Moorehead. The parents, both of 
Scotch descent, who were natives of the north 
of Ireland, came to America a few years be- 
fore the birth of Robert H., and settled in 
Duxbury, where the father followed his trade 
of weaver for a number of years. In 1826 
John Moorehead moved with his family to 
.Marshfield, and there, after spending the rest 
of his life occupied in agriculture, he died in 
his seventieth year. Of his children, Robert 



H. is now the only survivor. James M. died 
January 6, 1897, in New York City. 

Robert H. Moorehead's schooling, received 
for three months each winter, ended when he 
was sixteen years old. He acquired the 
rest of his good, practical education by 
extensive reading and intelligent observation. 
In his seventeenth year he began to learn the 
blacksmith's trade with Nathaniel Stevens, 
who was blacksmith and edge tool manufact- 
urer. After the lap.se of a little more than 
four years, Mr. Stevens was obliged by ill 
health to retire from business, and Mr. Moore- 
head conducted the shop in his own name for 
a number of years. Subsequently he spent 
several years in shoemaking, and then for two 
years in the employ of the Old Colony Rail- 
road, having been the first railroad agent in 
Marshfield. His next venture was in the mer- 
cantile line as a retail dealer in coal, flour, 
wheat, grain, and hay, in Marshfield. After 
a prosperous career in this business, he sold 
it in 1895 to Henry Carver, and has since en- 
joyed the leisure earned by long years of ac- 
tivity. 

Mr. Moorehead has been twice married. 
His first wife, in maidenhood Sarah P. How- 
land, was a daughter of Arthur and Sarah 
(Porter) Howland, of this town. She died 
after bearing him six children. Of these 
Theodore, now a leading official in the custom- 
house service at Shanghai, China, is the only 
survivor. His second marriage was con- 
tracted with Mrs. Rebecca P. (Dingley) 
Sampson, a daughter of Isaac Dingley, and 
the widow of Charles Sampson. She has also 
passed away. In politics Mr. Moorehead is 
an independent. He was for five years Select- 
man of Marshfield, and for equal periods As- 
sessor and Overseer of the Poor. Also, for 
the ten years after its organization, he was 
Treasurer of the Marshfield Agricultural So- 



5°o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ciety, and he had been elected for the eleventh 
year, when he resigned. 



/2)kORGE H. DAMON, of Scituate, 
\fe I the superintendent of Upham 
lirothers' shoe factory in Stoughton, 
Norfolk County, was born here, November 7, 
1833, son of Henry and I>LIizabeth (Litchfield) 
Damon, both also natives of Scituate. His 
grandfather, Reuben Damon, likewise born in 
this town, who was a descendant of an early 
settler of the district, and served as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War, followed the sea 
for a living. Henry Damon was a lifelong 
resident of Scituate. In his younger man- 
hood he also followed the sea, commanding a 
number of schooners, while his later years 
were occupied in farming. In politics a Free 
Soiler and a Republican, he took a prominent 
part in local affairs, and served for some time 
as Selectman. Captain Damon was an active 
member of the Congregational church, on ac- 
count of which he came to be called Deacon 
Damon. He died in 1879 on the farm now 
occupied by George H. Damon, his only sur- 
viving child. 

George H. Damon acquired his education in 
the public schools of Scituate. In his boy- 
hood he went to sea with the mackerel fleet 
during the fishing seasons. After attaining 
his majority he learned to make boots and 
shoes, and worked at that trade as a journey- 
man for a number of years. He then built a 
shop on the homestead farm, and there exe- 
cuted contracts from shoe firms, employing at 
one time as many as fifty hands. In 18S5 he 
was appointed superintendent of the shoe 
factory of Fogg, Vinal & Co., at Rochester, 
N.H.; and in August, 1888, he was made 
superintendent of the shoe bottoming depart- 
ment in the factory of Kdvvin Clapp, of East 



Weymouth, Mass. About eight years later 
he became superintendent of Upham Brothers' 
Shoe Factory, the duties of which he has 
since discharged to the satisfaction of his em- 
ployers. 

Mr. Damon was married in 1855 to Harriet 
L. Brown, a native of Scituate, and a daughter 
of Captain Samuel Brown. Captain Brown, 
like Mr. Damon's father, was a seafaring man, 
and commanded a vessel when he was eigh- 
teen years old. After spending his last years 
on a farm in Scituate, he died in 1S91. Mr. 
and Mrs. Damon have had si.x children, four 
of whom are living. The latter were born as 
follows: George W., on May 4, 1858; Henry 
E., on July 27, 1S61; Frank A., September, 
1874; and Benjamin L. , on December 7, 
1876. The others were: Chester, born De- 
cember 12, 1866, who died June 10, 1889; 
and Jessie F., born December 12, 1856, who 
died February, 1858. The father is a member 
of the Republican party. He has made many 
friends in his business relations, and is highly 
esteemed by all who know him. 



T^APTAIN NATHAN P. GIBBS has 
I Si^ had a remarkably successful and fort- 
X»^_^' unate career as a seaman — success- 
ful, as his ventures were lucrative; fortunate, 
for he met with no serious mishap while on 
the high seas He was born in Wareham, 
Mass., November 28, 1827, son of Seth D. 
and Delia P. (Perry) Gibbs, of Sandwich, 
Mass. He was one of a family of eight chil- 
dren. His brother, William P. Gibbs, is the 
only one besides himself now living. Their 
father was a mariner. 

The boyhood of Nathan was passed on a 
farm, and his early education was limited. 
At the age of si.vteen he shipped on board a 
whaling vessel, and was gone from home fif- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



50 ' 



teen months, cruising in the Atlantic Ocean. 
The adventurous life pleased him, and he bade 
farewell to the quiet fields of afjriculturc, 
shipping next as seaman on a merchant vessel 
from l^oston. At the end of this voyage he 
was fully c|ualified as an able seaman, and his 
next birth was as secontl mate. At the age 
of t went)' -five he was master of a vessel, and 
that year (1852) he discovered on Little Hird 
Island a rich deposit of guano. In 1854, tak- 
ing with him a crew of sixty men, he settled 
on this island, and began to dig the guano for 
the firm of Sampson & Topjiin, of Boston, and 
V. Si. Shelton, of the same city. When his 
men had been at work for about seven months, 
the Venezuelan government, discovering them, 
put an end to their operations, and the affair 
made some little trouble between Venezuela 
and this country. It was afterward satis- 
factorily settled by the United States govern- 
ment. Captain Gibbs followed the sea for 
forty years, and for twenty years was in the 
California trade. In i.SiS2 he retired, and set- 
tled permanently on the farm where he now 
makes his home in Wareham. His farm 
covers some fifty acres, and it is now a valu- 
able estate. 

Captain Gibbs was married in 1S54 to Miss 
Hannah Cluirbuck, of Wareham, daughter of 
Captain Willis Churbuck, and has two chil- 
dren — Nathan A. and Edna !•". The daughter 
is the wife of Harry E. Churbuck, of New 
Bedford. In politics the Captain is inde- 
pendent, making cause with neither jiarty. 
He is a Mason in good standing, belonging to 
-Social Harmony Lodge, A. E. & A. M., of 
Wareham. 




r/.RA SMITH, a prominent resident of 
Marshfield, was born February 16, 
uSj;;, in Duxbury, this county, son 
of Captain Jacob and Deborah (Cushman) 



Smith. Captain Jacob Smith, who was also 
born in Duxbury, followed the sea for thirty 
years or more, and was the captain of several 
vessels. The latter part of his life was spent 
in farming in Marshfield, where he died some 
fifty years ago. His wife was a native of 
Marshfield. Of their children Jacob Smith, 
of Westford, Mass., is the only other one 
living. 

Ezra Smith acquired his education in the 
common schools of Duxbury and at Lexington 
Academy. He was in his eighteenth year 
when his parents removed to Marshfield. 
Since then he has resided in this town, iden- 
tifying himself closely with its growth and 
progress. His time is given chiefly to agri- 
culture, which he carries on in a progressive 
and enterprising way. His farm is one of the 
best in the locality. A member of the Repub- 
lican party, he attends the town meetings and 
caucuses, and exercises much influence in 
matters of public importance; but he leaves 
the cares of oflfice to others. 

Mr. .Smith was married April 9, 1851, to 
Sarah J. Bessey, a native of Duxbury, and a 
daughter of Marshall and Sarah B. (Sampson) 
Bessey. Mr. Bessey, who was born in Bridge- 
water, Mass., died in 1842. Mrs. Bessey, 
who belonged to a leading family of Plymouth 
County, was descended from Henry Sampson, 
who came to Plymouth with the family of his 
uncle, lidward Tilly, in the "Mayflower." 
He was too young to sign the comjjact of No- 
vember II, in the cabin of the "Mayflower" 
in Provincetown Harbor; but he was enumer- 
ated in the assignment of land made in 1623, 
and in the division of cattle in 1627; and he 
was admitted a freeman of Plymouth Colony 
in 1637. Although made one of the original 
grantees of Bridgewater in 1645, he settleil 
liermanently in Duxbury, of which he was ap- 
pointed Constable in 1661. "This," says 



502 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Winsor, "was an office of high trust and re- 
sjDonsibility, and none were elected to it but 
men of high standing." Henry Sampson died 
December 24, 1684. He was married Febru- 
ary 6, 1635, to Ann Plummer, who bore him 
nine children. His youngest son, Caleb, 
born in Duxbury in 1660, married Mercy, 
daughter of Alexander and Sarah (Alden) 
Standish, all of Duxbury. Ale.xander Standish 
was the eldest son of Captain Miles Standish, 
and his wife was a daughter of John Alden, 
the Captain's rival in love. Mrs. Smith is of 
the sixth generation in direct line from Caleb 
and Mercy (Standish) Sampson, tracing her 
descent through their son Caleb, Caleb's son 
Paul, Paul's son Chandler, and Chandler's 
daughter, Sarah B. Sampson. Mrs. Sarah B. 
(Sampson) Bessey died in 1884. Mrs. Smith 
is a member of the First Congregational 
Church. A worthy representative of the fam- 
ilies from which she springs, she is very pop- 
ular in society. She is the mother of three 
children — Persis ]., Bessie, and Henry P. 




"OSEA J. STOCKBRIDGE, one of 
the town fathers of Scituate, was 

LI^ ^ , formerly a successful merchant. 

He was born February 21, 1839, in Norwell, 
Mass. (once a part of old Scituate), son of 
Joseph and Deborah (Dwelley) Stockbridge. 
The Stockbridge family is of English origin. 
The first member of it in this section of the 
country was Samuel Stockbridge, whose son, 
Joseph, was the grandfather of Hosea J. Jo- 
seph Stockbridge, Jr., a native of Scituate, 
worked at carpentry in his young manhood, 
and at shoemaking in his maturer years. In 
politics he was a Whig. He spent his life in 
Plymouth County, and died in 1872. His 
wife was born in Hanover, Mass. 

Hosea J. Stockbridge, who is the only sur- 



viving member of his father's family, was ed- 
ucated in the common schools of -Norwell. 
When he was eighteen years old he began to 
work at shoemaking, which he followed until 
1870. In that year he moved from Norwell 
to Scituate Harbor, and there engaged in the 
sale of general merchandise and grain as a 
partner in the firm of C. A. Cole & Co. In 
1S73 he retired from business, and located on 
his present farm, where he has since found 
pleasure and profit in the pursuit of agricult- 
ure. On October 27, 1869, he was united in 
marriage with Julia E. Brown, a daughter of 
the late William Brown, of Scituate. A pop- 
ular member of the Democratic party, Mr. 
Stockbridge has been twice nominated for 
Representative. He has been a Justice of the 
Peace for some time, and was first elected in 
1890 to the Scituate Board of Selectmen, on 
which he served three years in succession. In 
1895 he was again elected, and in 1896 he 
was honored with re-election. He has also 
served as Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and 
as a member of the Board of Health. Always 
in favor of progress, but never overstepping 
the bounds of prudence, his opinions are 
listened to with respect, and have m.uch influ- 
ence witii his townsmen. Mr. Stockbridge is 
a member of Connihasset Lodge, A. F. & 
A. M.; and of Cohasset Lodge, No. 192, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. 




ON. FRANKLIN W. HATCH, the 
popular proprietor of the Brant Rock 
and Green Harbor coach line, is 
one of the best -known citizens of Marshfield, 
where he was born February 12, 1836. A 
son of Colonel Charles and Mary (Ames) 
Hatch, both of whom were also natives of 
this town, he is a descendant in the seventh 
generation of Kenelem Winslow, who came to 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



503 



this country about the year 1630, and whose 
brother, Edward Winslow, of Plymouth, was a 
Colonial governor. Charles Hatch, grand- 
father of l'"ranklin \V., was born in Marsh- 
fielil. His son, Colonel Charles Hatch, was 
engaged in farming in this town during a 
great par: of his life. In his earlier manhood 
he had managed a stage line between Duxbury 
and Itoston. His military title was obtained 
in the State militia. In politics he was suc- 
cessively a Whig and a Republican. He died 
ill 1S70. Of his children, five are living, 
namely: Mary, the wife of Ezra Ford, of 
Marshfield; Almera, the wife of Nathan Ford, 
of Weymouth, Mass.; Ellen, the wife of 
H. F. H. Keen, of Marshfield; Franklin W. , 
the subject of this sketch; and Susan A., 
the wife of John Magoun, of Marshfield. 

Franklin W. Hatch acquired his early edu- 
cation in the common schools of his native 
town. He remained with his father until he 
was of age, and then for three years was en- 
gaged in driving a stage for his brother, 
Charles T. Hatch, who was the proprietor of a 
coach line. Afterward he entered into part- 
nership with his brother; and then, after 
another interval, became the sole proprietor 
of the line, which he has successfully carried 
on since. In the the summer his coaches, ply- 
ing between Hrant Rock and Green Harbor, 
often carry a thousand passengers a week. 
He has also government contracts for four 
mail routes, which are in operation the year 
round. 

On December 18, i860, Mr. Hatch was 
married to Vesta, daughter of Sidney Howard, 
of Brockton, and has one daughter living, 
named Marcia K. His political principles are 
Republican, and he has served in a number of 
public offices. He was Constable of Marsh- 
field for a number of years; Deputy SherifT 
for twelve years; and he sat in the State 



legislature of 1888. He is a member of 
Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Du.x- 
bury, in which at one time he held the rank 
of Master. Mr. Hatch is well known to a 
large contingent of summer visitors, and is 
very popular with all classes. His success in 
business has been won entirely by personal 
effort, as he started on little more capital than 
industry and pluck. 



T^APTAIN JOHN G. DEXTER, of 
I Sr^ Rochester, who has had a remarkably 
\^ ^ ^ successful career in whale hunting, 
was born in Rochester, I-'ebruary 28, 1834. 
He was reared on a farm, receiving much of 
his early education at Rochester Academy. 
At the age of si.xteen he shipped before the 
mast on the whaling ship "Canton" of New 
Bedford, and was gone a year and a half, cruis- 
ing in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and 
the Okhotsk Sea. Having become an c.vpert 
sailor on this voyage, he was next engaged as 
boat steerer on the ship "Pacific," which was 
out thirty months, hunting whales in the same 
waters, and in Chinese and Japanese seas. He 
went on the next trip of the "Pacific" as third 
mate, was gone forty-four months, cruising in 
the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and 
returned as second mate. Holding this rank, 
he made four more voyages in the Pacific, and 
became very familiar with the whaling grounds 
of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the 
Okhotsk Sea. He then became Captain of the 
bark "Hercules," and commanded her on a 
voyage from New Bedford, lasting forty 
months. Captain Dexter has circumnavigated 
the globe more than once, and sailed around 
Cape Horn six times; and the vessels on 
which he served obtained at an average over a 
thousand barrels of whale oil per year. In 
1866 he retired from the arduous life which 



5°4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



he had followed for sixteen years, and settled 
in his present home. 

Captain Dexter was married in i86g to Miss 
Catherine Ruggles, of Rochester. They have 
had seven children, of whom Frank G. and 
Hattie are deceased. The others are: John 
W., Ellen R., Lucy R., Charles R., and 
Mary S. Politically, he favors the Republi- 
can party. He was Assessor, Overseer of the 
Poor, and Trustee of the Public Library for 
some time; Selectman of the town for four 
years; and he was sent to the legislature in 
1893. He takes much interest in literary 
matters and educational projects. His wide 
and diversified knowledge of men and things, 
gained by actual observation and experience, 
gives much value to his opinion on numerous 
subjects. 

«^*» > i 

VOT PHILLH'S, of the firm of Lot 
Phillips & Company, large box manu- 
facturers in Plymouth County, own- 
ing mills in various places, is a substantial 
citizen of the town of Hanover. He was born 
in Hanson, Mass., February 13, i84i,.a son 
of Ezra and Nabby Phillips, being the only 
child of his parents. He received a public- 
school education, after which he learned the 
routine of farm work, remaining on the home 
farm in Hanson until 1863, when he was 
twenty-two years of age. 

The eight years following, from 1863 to 
1 87 1, were spent in the work of a millwright. 
In 1 87 1 he erected a plant for the manufactur- 
ing of boxes and the grinding of grain, and 
established the business now, as then, con- 
ducted under the firm name of Lot Phillips 
& Co. Besides this they own a saw-mill in 
Hanson, another in East Pembroke, a third in 
West Duxbury, and the Alihab mills, located 
at West Hanover, the dimensions of the box 
factory being eighty by one hundred and sixty 




feet, and of the grist-mill, forty by one hun- 
dred feet. Mr. Phillips's partners in this 
enterprise were E. Y. Perry and Josiah H ink- 
ley. They cut annually about three and one- 
half million feet of lumber into box boards, 
and saw about seventeen hundred cords of 
wood, which is sold in the Boston market. 
Mr. Phillips carries on a farm of about one 
hundred and seventy-five acres owned by the 
company. He was also connected for seven- 
teen years with the grain business in Hanover 
and Rockland. 

Mr. Phillips and Miss Sarah E. Phillips 
were joined in marriage in 1863, and to them 
seven children have been born, as follows: 
George W., who died in 1878; Mabel G. ; 
Fred W. ; Flora E. ; Ezra Burt; Lee; and 
Hugh. Mr. Phillips is a Republican in poli- 
tics. He is a member of North River Lodge, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Han- 
over. He attends the First Congregational 
Church of Hanover, and has been Treasurer of 
the parish for several years. 




ENRY S. BATES, of Hanover, who 
closed a successful business career 
in 1896 by retirement, was born in 
his present home on November 10, 1821. He 
was educated in his native town, making the 
most of the limited opportunities offered at 
that time. Ship-building was one of the lead- 
ing industries of Plymouth County in his boy- 
hood, when the docks were thronged with busy 
workmen. It was this fact that prompted him 
at the age of seventeen to learn the ship- 
carpenter's trade. Having done so, he fol- 
lowed it for thirteen years, during which he 
saw launched many a vessel which he had 
helped to build. In 1851, when he was 
thirty years old, he and his brother John 
opened a general store in Hanover, stocking 




LOT PHILLIPS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



SO? 



it with the variety of goods made necessary 
by the demands of country trade. This was 
very large then, as there was no railroad con- 
nection with the cities, and goods had to be 
transported overland by team from Boston, or 
shipped by way of the North River. Hanover 
is about seven or eight miles from the mouth 
of the river as the crow flies; but following 
the windings of the stream, tiie distance is 
much greater. The river, however, was the 
great highway of commerce when Mr. Bates 
was a young man, ami the transportation of 
goods was necessarily slow and uncertain. 
With a natural aptitude for business, he was 
able to make his store a commercial centre of 
the district for forty-five years. 

In the course of his long life Mr. Bates has 
made a great many friends. Aside from the 
respect accorded him as a successful business 
man, he has wun the lasting regard of many 
by the intrinsic worth of his character. A 
lifelong resident of Hanover, he has witnessed 
many changes in the pleasant little town, the 
advent of railroads, and of steam-power in 
manufacturing. Mr. Bates was first married 
in 1861 to ;\Iiss Angeline S. Gardner. Sub- 
se(.|Lientl\- he contracted a second marriage 
with Mrs. I^meline (Pratt) Sylvester, who 
died January 12, 1S97, leaving no children. 



irx ANIKL 1). DMVHRKUX, 
I ——J known and popular manaj 
,^-KL^ Western Union Telegrapl 



the well- 
manager of the 
iph Office at 
Du.xbury, was born in Providence, R.I., March 
26, 1839, a son of Rali)h P. and Phebe (Chase) 
Devereu.x. The family is one of the oldest in 
New England, John Devereux, its American 
founder, having come to this country and 
settled in or near Marblehead about the year 
1630. Ralph P. Devereux, a native of Marble- 
head, Mass., and a son of Nathaniel K. Dever- 



eux, was engaged in business in Boston and 
Providence, but always resided in the latter 
city. 

In 1854, after receiving his education in the 
elementary schools and High School of Provi- 
dence, Daniel D. Devereux went to New Bed- 
ford, Mass., where he secured a position as 
messenger boy for the New York and New 
England Telegraph Company. While so em- 
ployed he im[)roved his opportunities to learn 
telegraphy, and was shortly after promoted to 
the position of telegraph operator. Poinding 
him an entirely competent man the American 
Telegraph Company, after it absorbed the New 
York & New luigland, and the Western Union 
after the American had joined it, successively 
retained him in their employment. He was 
in the State Street office in Boston for a 
quarter of a century, during the greater part of 
which he had charge of the company's city 
lines, and was inspector of its branch and 
suburban offices. In May, 1882, he came to 
Duxbury, and has since been in charge of their 
office here. 

On December ii, 1862, Mr. Devereux mar- 
ried Abbie Ii. Mott, of Providence. They 
have three children — William I"., Lizzie A., 
and Charles A. Mr. Devereux is a Republi- 
can in politics, has been for many years a 
member of the Republican Town Committee, 
of Uuxbury, of which he served as Secretary, 
and he took an active part in public affairs 
while living in Maiden. He is a member of 
the Duxbury Yacht Club, and its present Sec- 
retary ami Treasurer. IK is also affiliated 
with Columbian Lodge, -A. I-". & A. M., of 
Boston, St. Paul's Royal Arch Chapter of that 
city, being a life member of both these bodies. 
He is an honorary member and Past Master of 
Melrose Council at Maiden, Mass. ; also a 
member of the Hugh De Payens Comniandery, 
of Melrose, Mass. ; and he is a Thirty-second 



5°8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Degree Mason. At present he is Chairman of 
the Board of Registrars of Voters for Duxbury. 



j^ENJAMIN F. H. KEENE, Town 
Collector of Marshfield and the Post- 
master of Centre Marshfield, is one 
of the most esteemed residents of the town. 
He was born here January 20, 1832, son of 
Benjamin and Nancy (Sherman) Keene, both 
also natives of Marshfield. His grandfather, 
Benjamin Keene, Sr., resided here for a num- 
ber of years. His father, who passed his life 
in the town, died in 1859. His mother, who 
was a daughter of Amos and Nancy (Holmes) 
Sherman, lived until 1895. The other surviv- 
ing children of his parents are: Kate L. , the 
widow of J. Tha.xter Damon, of Marshfield ; 
and Elsie J., the wife of Charles L. Ford, of 
East Pembroke, Mass. 

Benjamin F. H. Keene was educated in the 
common schools of his native town. He 
learned the trade of ship-caulking in his early 
manhood, and followed it continuously after- 
ward for about fifteen years. Many years have 
elapsed since he was appointed Postmaster at 
Centre Marshfield. All who call on him for 
mail are pleased to exchange greetings with 
him, and would miss him sadly were he not in 
his accustomed place. He is besides engaged 
in farming, and also deals in agricultural im- 
plements. In politics Mr. Keene is a stanch 
Republican. He believes in the principles so 
eloquently advocated by Daniel Webster, who 
was in the height of his forceful manhood when 
Mr. Keene was a young child, and whose home 
in Marshfield is still an object of interest to 
visitors. Mr. Keene served for four years on 
the Board of Selectmen, and has been Assessor 
and Overseer of the Poor. He has now been 
in office as Collector some four years. 

On January i, i860, he was united in mar- 



riage with Ellen L. , daughter of Colonel 
Charles Hatch, of Marshfield. Colonel Hatch, 
who was an officer in the State militia, and at 
one time managed a stage line between Dux- 
bury and ]3oston, afterward engaged in farming 
in Marshfield, where he died in 1870. Of his 
children four, besides Mrs. Keene, are living. 
These are : Mary, the wife of Ezra Ford of this 
town ; Almera, the wife of Nathan P\ird, of 
Weymouth, Mass. ; Franklin VV., the proprie- 
tor of the Brant Rock and Green Harbor coach 
line; and Susan A., the wife of John Ma- 
goun, of Marshfield. Mr. and Mrs. Keene 
have had two qhildren — Nellie F. and PTor- 
ence L. Nellie F. is now deceased. Mrs. 
Keene and her daughter P'lorence are members 
of the Congregational church. They, with 
Mr. Keene, take an active part in the social 
events of the town, and are well known and 
popular. 

(51 HOMAS F. BAILEY, Selectman of 
^1 Scituate, and a well-known and success- 
ful contractor and builder, is a native of 
Dorchester, Mass., born November 22, 1838. 
Plis parents were Sewall and Elizabeth (Gerv- 
ing) Bailey. Sewall Bailey, who was born in 
Scituate, was a son of Israel Bailey, an old 
settler of this town, and a soldier of the War 
of 1 8 12. The mother of Thomas F. was born 
in the State of Rhode Island. 

Thomas F. Bailey spent the first seven years 
of his life in Dorchester. His parents then 
removing to Scituate he acquired his education 
in the schools of this town, ending with a 
course of study at the high school. When he 
was seventeen years old he began to learn the 
carpenter's trade at Dorchester. He had 
served three years and seven months of his 
apprenticeship when, answering the first call 
for troops from President Lincoln, he enlisted 
in April, 1861, in Company K, Eleventh 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



509 



Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His regi- 
ment was assigned to the army of the Potomac, 
after which, until his discharge, he was almost 
constantly in action, sliaring in some of the 
most momentous hattles of the war. He was 
in the disastrous rout of the first lUill Run ; in 
the terrific conflict of the second Hull Run; in 
the engagements of Seven Pines and Fair 
Oaks; at the battle of Gett)'sburg, where he 
was wounded; in the conflicts of the Wilder- 
ness; and in the battle of Cold Harbor. Hon- 
orabl\- discharged on June 14, 1864, he re- 
turned to Scituate, where, excepting a period 
of three years spent in lioston, he has since 
made his home. He has been in business as a 
contractor and builder some twenty years, win- 
ning the confidence of the public by his close 
attention to business. 

Mr. Bailey married Miss Marion L. Mott, 
daughter of Paul Mott, of Scituate, and has 
one son, George S. A popular Republican he 
was elected Selectman in March, 1894, and 
has been twice re-elected since. He is a 
member of George W. Perry Post, No. 31, 
Grand Army of the Republic of Scituate 
Centre, of which he was Commander for a 
year ; and also belongs to Hatchet Rock 
Assembly of Good Fellows. 



AHFZ P. THOMPSON, a large land 
owner and a successful farmer of Hali- 
fax, was born July 24, 1853, on the 
farm where he now resides, son of liphraim B. 
and Eliza R. (Soule) Thompson. The 
founder of the family came from Wales in 
1622, and settled in Halifa.v, which has been 
the birthplace of its lineal representatives 
since, namely: Thomas; Ebenezer, Sr. ; Eben- 
ezer, Jr. ; Jabez P. ; Ephraim B. ; and Jabez 
P. lOi^hraim B. Thompson and his wife had 
five childien — Jabez P., Ellen A., Sarah B., 



Lucy M., and .Susan. Lucy M. died in 1865, 
and Susan in i860. The father, who died in 
1889, aged seventy-six, was a member of the 
Congregational church, served several years as 
Selectman, and was also a Representative in 
the Lower Hou.sc of the State legislature for 
two or three terms. Grandfather Thompson 
was a State Senator about the same time, 
somewhere in the forties. 

Jabez P. Thompson, the only son of his 
parents, remained on the homestead, attending 
the district school at intervals until eighteen 
years of age. Thereafter he devoted his time 
to farming and lumbering. Since his father's 
death he has become, the owner of the home- 
stead, a farm of about two hundred acres. In 
addition to this he owns forty acres of timber 
land. He also succeeded to some of the 
official honors bestowed upon his father. He 
was Selectman for thirteen years, during three 
of which he was Chairman of the I^oard. Me 
has served the community as Overseer of the 
Poor, Assessor, Tax Collector; was Town 
Treasurer for ten years. Justice of the Peace 
three years, and in 1893 he was a member of 
the State legislature. Like his father he is a 
communicant of the Congregational church; 
and he is affiliated with the Knights of Honor, 
of Middleboro. 

On December 19, 1S7S, ]\Ir. Thompson was 
united in marriage with Miss Abbie P. Wooil, 
daughter of Aspah S. and Abbie L. Wood, of 
Halifax. He has now four children, as fol- 
lows: Frederick P., Clifford B. , Myron W. , 
and Helen L. 



.SA J. MERRITT is a respected busi- 
ness man of Scituate, long identified 
with the building trade in this town 
as a member of the firm of Merritt l^rothers, 
contractors. He was born in Scituate, No- 
vember 22, 1828, son of Asa and Betsey (Cud- 




5'° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



worth) Merritt. (For a further account of the 
Merritt family see the biography of Henry 
Merritt, of Scituate. ) 

Asa J. Merritt made the most of the edu- 
cational advantages offered by the district 
school. At the age of sixteen he began to 
learn the trade of carpenter and joiner from his 
father, with whom he worked for a number of 
years. Subsequently, for many years, he was 
in partnership with his brother Henry, with 
whom he formed the firm of Merritt Brothers, 
contractors and builders. In the pursuit of 
this business he was an influential factor in the 
development of Scituate and adjoining towns. 
His contracts were always fulfilled promjotly 
and honestly. 

Mr. Merritt was married January i, 1856, to 
Hannah A. Curtis, a daughter of Norton and 
Mary P. (Chesbrook) Curtis, of Scituate. 
The Curtis family, which is of English origin, 
was established by one of four brothers who 
came to this country in Colonial times. This 
brother settled in Scituate, and here Thomas 
Curtis, Charles Curtis, and Norton Curtis, re- 
spectively the great-grandfather, grandfather, 
and father of Mrs. Merritt, were born. Nor- 
ton Curtis, a lifelong resident of Scituate, was 
respected as an exemplary citizen. His wife, 
who was born in Camden, Me., bore him a 
large family of children, six of whom, besides 
Mrs. Merritt, the eldest, are living. These 
are: Mary N., the wife of Ira B. Pratt, of 
Cohasset, Mass. ; Emeline F. , the wife of 
B. B. W. Litchfield, of Scituate; Henry N. 
and Job E. , both residents of Weymouth, 
Mass.; Arthur H., residing in Boston; and 
Sarah E. , a resident of Scituate. Mr. and 
Mrs. Merritt have three children, namely : 
Asa E., born February 12, 1857; Wesley 
C. , born June 29, 1859; and Anna F. , who 
is now wife of John F. Turner, a constable 
of Scituate. Mr. Merritt votes the Re- 



publican ticket. A public-spirited citizen, 

he is much interested in the welfare of the 

connnunity. 

1 ■ ■ ■ » 

JOSHUA W. SWIFT, Treasurer and 
Collector of Duxbury, was born in this 
town, January 19, 1821, son of Lot and 
Mercy (Weston) Swift. The Swift family is 
said to be of English origin, and Mr. Swift's 
grandfather was a native of Massachusetts, 
who resided in Wareham. Lot Swift was born 
in Wareham, but the greater part of his life 
was spent in Duxbury, where he followed agri- 
cultural pursuits, and his wife was a native of 
this town. Of their children but two now 
survive, namely: Joshua W., the subject of 
this sketch; and his sister Lydia, who also 
resides here. 

Joshua W. Swift in his early years attended 
the common schools of his native town, and at 
the age of seventeen he went to New Bedford, 
where he served an apprenticeship at the har- 
ness and trunk-maker's trade. Returning to 
Duxbury on November i, 1841, he established 
himself in the harness business, and has since 
followed it successfully. 

In 1842 Mr. Swift was married to Caroline 
Kirby, daughter of Noah Kirby, late of West- 
port, Mass. Of four children born to them 
there are two survivors — Amanda M. and 
Edgar W. The two who have passed away 
were: Alvah L. and Herbert. Mrs. Swift 
died in 1863. 

In politics Mr. Swift is one of the most 
prominent and active supporters of the Demo- 
cratic party in Duxbury. For ten years he 
served as a Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer 
of the Poor, these positions coming to him un- 
sought. He was Deputy Collector of Customs 
for the Plymouth District for three years, and 
has acted as a Justice of the Peace for a num- 
ber of years. He has held his present offices 




JOSHUA W. SWIFT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5^3 



of Treasurer and Collector of this town fur tlie 
past twenty-one years, which is ample testi- 
mony of his ability and faithfulness, especially 
as he was not a seeker after office. In 1876 
he was a candidate for Representative, hut 
was defeated by his Republican op[K)nent, 
George Bradford, who was elccteil by a small 
majority, although Mr. Sw-ift polled the largest 
vote ever accorded a Democratic candidate in 
this district. lie is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, and has been an Odd Fellow for 
over fifty years. As a public-spirited citizen 
and an able official he is widely and favorably 
known, and is highly respected by all classes 
irrespective of i)olitics. 




^\CA^/ ARR1-:X LITCllhlELlJ, one of the 
oldest residents of Scituate, belongs 
to a prominent and numerous family, 
native here for over one hundred and fifty 
years, and active in jiromoting the interests of 
the place. Sketches of other members of this 
family will be found elsewhere in this volume. 
Mr. Litchfield was born here June 3, 181 3, 
son of Stephen and Rebecca (Cudworth) Litch- 
field. Stephen was a son of Isaac Litchfield, 
and both were natives and lifelong residents of 
this town. An extensive land-owner, Stephen 
was engaged in agriculture during his active 
life. In prosperous circumstances himself he 
gave freely to the deserving poor. His death 
on December 23, 1843, was mourned in Scitu- 
ate as the loss of a benefactor of the commu- 
nity, lie was married three times. Of his 
children the only survivors are Turner Litch- 
field, of Scituate, and Warren Litchfield. 

Warren Litchfield was educated in the dis- 
trict school, and reared to agricultural pursuits, 
working on the farm between schools terms. 
He has been engaged in general farming 
throughout the greater part of his life, and has 



the independent nature and sturdy constitution 
which his mode of life is so apt to foster. His 
integrity and sterling character have won the 
confidence and esteem of his townsmen. 

.Mr. Litchfield was first married to Julia 
Litchfield, who bore him one daughter, Julia 
W. , now deceased. On January 25, 1843, he 
was united to Helen, daughter of Abram and 
Rachel (Nichols) Litchfield, all natives of 
Scituate. This lady, who is yet living, be- 
came the mother of eight children, four of 
whom have passed away. Those living are: 
Rachel N., the wife of William Burrows, of 
Scituate; Stephen, who also resides in this 
town; Helen A., the wife of Chester Sylves- 
ter, of Campello, Mass. ; and Nettie, the wife 
of Harry Hates, of Braintree, Mass. In poli- 
tics Mr. Litchfield is independent, favoring 
always the candidate whom he thinks most 
capable of serving the interests of the people. 
He has served on the School Committee, and 
for a time was Road Surveyor of his district. 
Mr. Litchfield was formerly a member of the 
Debating Club. His wife is a member of the 
Baptist church. Both she and her husband are 
types of the sturdy and fearless pioneer stock 
which has done so much for I'hmouth CoutUv. 




KLIIAM W. BARROWS, who died 
in Colorado in 1890, was a native of 
Carver, Plymouth County, Mass. He 
was born on January 31, 1S29, and was a son 
of Lothrop and Sally (Shaw) Barrows. His 
paternal grandparents were Andrew- and Sarah 
(Perkins) Barrows. 

He was reared on a farm, but having no taste 
for agiiculture decided to learn a trade. Ac- 
cordingly, in early manhood, he went to work 
in an iron foundry, first in South Carver and 
then in Watertown, remaining at this occujia- 
tion till the fall of 1861, when he enlisted in 



514 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Company C, Eighteenth Massachusetts In- 
fantry. He was eight montl^s in the service, 
and in that time he suffered all the hardships 
of a soldier's life, taking part in the terrible 
seven days' retreat under McClellan. At the 
end of eight months, on account of physical 
disability, he was discharged with the rank of 
Sergeant, and returned to Carver, where he 
lived for some time on a farm. When partly 
recovered he resumed work in the iron foundry 
at Watertown. 

In 1877 he went to Albion, Ikione County, 
Neb., locating on a homestead claim, and re- 
siding there seven or eight years. He then 
went to Colorado, where he had a son with 
whom he lived; and he journeyed subsequently 
to California. He was in poor health when he 
made this trip, and he soon returned to Colo- 
rado, hoping to be benefited by the pure dry air 
of that State; but disease had made such deep 
inroads on his constitution that recovery was 
impossible, and he died in 1890. His remains 
were forwarded from Colorado, and were in- 
terred in the Central Cemetery of Carver. 
Mr. Barrows was a charter member of the 
Plymouth Grand Army of the Republic Post. 
He was an enterprising and ambitious man, 
and was a popular member of society; and his 
death, occurring as it did when he was removed 
so far from home and old friends, aroused uni- 
versal interest and sympathy for his bereaved 
family. 

Mr. Barrows was married in 1854 to Miss 
Priscilla J. Shaw, who was born in Carver in 
1832, a daughter of Cajitain Joseph and 
Hannah (Dunham) Shaw. Six children were 
the result of this union: Jo.seph W., Ellis H. 
(deceased), Pelham A., Laura L., Hannah B. 
(deceased), and P"rank E. While Mr. Barrows 
was in the West his wife removed to the 
pleasant home where she now lives. She is a 
lady of ability, culture, and self-reliance, and 



has for some time been acting as Postmaster's 
assistant at Carver. A sketch of her father. 
Captain Shaw, may be found elsewhere in this 
volume. 



(^" 



APTAIN JOSEPH SHAW, formerly 



well known in Carver and vicinity, 
Vsi£_^ the son of Lieutenant Joseph Shaw 
and his wife Lydia, was born in this town, 
F^ebruary 17, 1782, and was descended from 
early settlers of the Old Colony. Captain 
Shaw devoted himself mainly to farming 
throughout his active life, but in the winter 
months he worked in the old blast foundry. 
He took a keen interest in civil and political 
affairs, and became one of the leading men in 
the community. He was appointed Captain of 
a company of State militia, and in the second 
war with Great Britain was drafted for service 
in the army. Owing, however, to illness in his 
family, he was unable to respond to the call, 
and furnished a substitute, Mr. Benjamin Har- 
low. Captain Shaw died September 26, 1S55. 
By his first wife, Sarah Murdock, whom he 
vQiarried in 1S04, he had six sons, the eldest, 
born in 1804, the youngest in 1 8 14. The fol- 
lowing is a brief record in order of their 
births: Joseph died unmarried in 1865. 
Linus, who died in 1854 , married DicV Allen 
in 1833, and had George H. and Linus A. 
(who both served in the late war), Jeannette 
H., Arlotha M., Calvin R., and Betsy. Bart- 
lett married in 1833 Almira Atwood, had one 
child, and died in 1835. Martin was born and 
died in 181 1. Dennis, who died in 1875, 
married Emmeline Skinner, and had Will- 
iam B. , Henry and Henrietta (twins), Albert, 
Charles, Emmeline, Susannah, and Apollos. 
He and his four elder sons served in the Ci\'il 
War, two of them being wounded. One son 
died in the regular army. Harrison Shaw 
married Adaliiie Bent, had eight children — 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5«S 



William 1?., Sarah M., Deliverance, Charles 
II., lunma H. , Jdhn, Mary, and ICrastiis, — 
and died in 1861. 

Captain Joseph Shaw married Hannah Dun- 
ham, his second wife, in iSwS, and b)' this 
union became the father of nine children, 
namely: William H., j\vho was born and died 
in 1819; Nathaniel, born 1820, died in 1821; 
Mbenezer; Francis; -"i^ally ]\I. ; Ilannali M. ; 
bliver; Priscilhi J. {Mrs. I'elham W. Har- 
rows) ; and Hartlett. libenezer Shaw, born in 
1823, was married firSt in 1848, to Nancy 
IHsbee. Their children were: Frederick, 
Aravesta, Josephus, and Eugene E. He mar- 
-r-ied the second time Hannah Dennison, and 
their children were: Fred W. , Aravesta H. , 
I'^lmer I-'., Hartlett, and Myra. Ebenezcr 
-Shaw was a man of much business ability. 
He built at Middleboro an iron fouTulry, which 
he conducted for some years. The foundry 
was eventually burned, and at the time of his 
death, in 1889, he w-as residing in Carver. 
I'rancis S. Shaw, born iri 1824, married Abbie 
Southworth in 1849, and died in 1885. Their 
children were thirteen in number, but only two 
are living — Emma L. and Jennie. Sally 
Murdock Shaw, born in 1826, was married to 
Ira C. Kent in 1847. Their children were: 
l^llen F., now Mrs. Philander J. Holmes; and 
Nathaniel Warren. Hannah M., horn in 
1827, married VAi Atwood in 1850, and died 
in 1892; she had one child, Hetsy S. 

Oliver Shaw, born T'ebruary 5, 1S31, mar- 
ried Miranda Atwood i|i 1855, and had Al- 
ton E. , and Bradford Q. and Bartlett E., 
twins, all now deceased. 1 Oliver Shaw learned 
the trade of iron moulderj and in 1863 he was 
called upon to take charge of the Miles Pratt 
& Co. 's Stove Works at Watertown as Super- 
intendent. He remained thoughout his life 
with this firm, and from (877 was one of the 
directors of the corporation. A stanch Repub- 



r 

iican in [lolitics he served as Selectman for 
fifteen years; and in 1894 he was elected to 
the State Senate from the Second Middlese.v 
District. Mr. Shaw's financial and business 
abilities were of a high order. He was one of 
the organizers of the Watertown Savings Hank 
and a Trustee of that body from its incorpora- 
tion. He was also President of the L'nion 
Market National Hank from 1893 until his 
death, December 26, 1894. He was a member 
of Company K, Third Regiment of the State 
militia, from 1852 to 1857. Mr. Shaw was 
well known socially, and belonged to the Mid- 
dlesex Club of Boston, and to the Village Club 
of Watertown. He attended the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

Bartlett, youngest son ^f Captain Joseph and 
Hannah Shaw, born March 12, 1835, also 
learned to be a moulder'; but when, in 1861 
the war broke out, inspired with enthusiasm 
for the preservation of the Union, he threw 
aside the implements of industry and assisted 
in raising a company in Carver. He was ap- 
pointed Orderly Sergeant of this company, and 
later was promoted to the rank of Second Lieu- 
tenant. Owing to the sickness of his superior 
officer, he was placed in charge at the second 
battle of Bull Run, and lost his life in that 
engagement. As he gallantly led his com- 
mand he gave the direction, " Boys, keep cool 
and fire low." He had scarcely said the words 
when he fell dead with a bullet in his fore- 
head. He was an exemplary young man and 
greatly beloved by all his| comrades. 



TT^APTAIN JOSEPHUS DAWES, a 
I Vp retired shipmaster of Duxbury, was 

V »ir' ^ born in this town, April 7, 1820, 
the son of Abraham and Deborah (Darling) 
Dawes. Deborah Dawes was a native of Dux- 
bury, and her family was of Scotch origin. 



Si6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Abraham Dawes was a native of Kingston. 
His ancestry will be found in a sketch of Cap- 
tain James H. Dawes, which appears upon 
another page of this work. 

Josephus Dawes attended the public schools 
of his native town at intervals until he was 
fourteen years of age. When he was seven 
years of age he began to accompany his father 
upon fishing trips along Massachusetts Bay; 
and he assisted in disiDOsing of the fish in Bos- 
ton. At the age of fourteen he shipped before 
the mast on board a vessel which was com- 
manded by his elder brother, the late Captain 
Allen Dawes; and he sailed with him in the 
coasting and foreign trade until he was twenty- 
one years old. He was then able to command 
a vessel himself, and his first voyage as master 
was made in the brig " August," which was 
owned by Joseph Holmes, of Kingston. He 
afterward commanded various vessels belonging 
to Mr. Holmes, in whose employ he sailed for 
nineteen years. He was subsequently part 
owner and master of several merchantmen, 
among them being the barks "Fruiter," 
" Jehu," and " Valetta. " 

In the years of 1852 and 1853 Captain 
Dawes spent his time in the northern and 
southern mines of California. At the close 
of the second year his old love for the sea re- 
turned to him, and during the next ten years 
we find him engaged in the Mediterranean fruit 
trade. At this time he was making many of 
the fastest passages on record. For four years 
he traded on the Chinese Coast, visiting all 
the principal ports. His last vessel was the 
" Annie W. Weston," in which he traded be- 
tween San Francisco and lingland. For over 
thirty years he was a successful as well as a 
fortunate master- mariner, never meeting with 
a single di.saster or loss of a man at sea. 
During his long experience he doubled Cape 
Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, circumnavi- 



gated the globe several times, and visited the 
principal parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and 
South America. In one of his voyages to the 
Cape of Good Hope he was obliged to conceal 
the name of his vessel under a canvas on 
account of the nearness of the " Alabama," 
which was commanded by Captain Semmes. 

Captain Dawes wedded Sally Freeman, 
daughter of the late Bradford Freeman, of 
Duxbury. She accompanied him upon many 
of his voyages, thus proving herself a loving 
and faithful companion, who did not hesitate 
to brave the dangers of the sea in order to be 
with her husband in the hour of peril, should 
such be the case. .She died April 2, 1887. 

Captain Dawes has three children, as fol- 
lows: Wilfred C, who is Chief Inspector of 
the Money Order Department of the Boston 
Post-office; Frank H., a resident of Haverhill, 
Mass. ; and Eunice F., wife of Henry C. Tan- 
ner, that city. 

Although the Captain passes his winters in 
Haverhill, during the summer he occupies his 
pleasant residence at Island Creek Station, in 
Duxbury, amid the haunts of his childhood and 
close beside the sea, which was for so many 
years his home. He is a member of the Uni- 
tarian society of Duxbury. 



UDSON EWELL, of Manshfield, who 
has been Chairman of the Board of 
Selectmen for a number of years, was 
born in this town, October 23, 1840. His 
parents were Ezra D. and Frances L. (Wash- 
burn) Ewell, and his paternal grandfather was 
Isaac Ewell, a resident of Marshfield. 

Henry Ewell, the first of this surname in 
the Plymouth Colony, married in 1638 Sarah 
Annable, daughter of Anthony Annable, who 
came over in the "Ann" in 1623. Their 
son, Ichabod, born in 1659 in Scituate, had 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S«7 



sons, it is said, who settled in Marshficld. 
I'^zra 1). I'^wcll, son of Isaac, was born in 
Maishliclil, and made his home in this town up 
to the time of his deatli. lie was a stone 
mason by trade, and worked also at various 
other occupations. His. wife was born in 
Taunton, Mass. They were the parents of the 
following children: Frances M., Judson, Kim- 
ball W., Adeline W., and Antoinette C. 

Judson liwell was given good educational 
opportunities, attending the public schools of 
Marshfield and Hanover Academy. He began 
at eighteen to learn the blacksmith's trade, 
and served his time with Waldo Bradford in 
North Bridgewater (now Brockton), Mass., 
working with him until i^^SQ; and he was sub- 
sequently employed as a journeyman in differ- 
ent places. In January, 1862, he enlisted in 
Company G, Second District of Columbia Vol- 
unteers, and was assigned to the army of the 
Potomac, General Griffin's Brigade, General 
i^Iorrell's Division, and General Fitz John 
Porter's Army Corps. He was in the battle 
of Antietam, September 17-18, 1862, and took 
part in a number of minor engagements while 
attached to the army of the Potomac, his regi- 
ment being subsc(|uently on detached duty on 
the lookout for John S. Mosby arid his gue- 
rillas. Mr. l^well was promoted to the rank 
of Sergeant of Company G, and served in that 
capacity about a year. W'hile in action against 
the Confederates he had a number of narrow 
escapes from death and imprisonment. 

Experiencing his share of the hardships of a 
soldier's life, he was also privileged to enjoy 
the pomp and glitter of military display in 
social affairs. During the last year and a half 
of his service he was a member of the band of 
the Second Regiment, District of Columbia 
Volunteers, and played at the fair for the benefit 
of the Sanitary Commission in the Patent 
Office at Washington. Honorably discharged 



in October, 1865, he returned home; and in 
1867 he opened a forge of his own in Marsh- 
field, which he still manages. He has been 
very successful in financial matters, doing his 
work well and paying strict attention to 
business. 

Mr. Powell has been twice married. His 
first wife, Maria (deceased), was a daughter of 
the Rev. George Leonard, of Marshfield Hills. 
She bore him four children, of whom but two 
survive, namely: Leonard G., born I'ebruary 
6, 1873; and Fmmeline W. , born June 14, 
1877. The others were : Walter, born Novem- 
ber I, 1870; and George L. , born July 8, 
1S81. His second wife, who was formerly 
Miss Julia F. Rogers, became the mother of 
five children, the eldest being Grace, born 
September 21, 1883, with whom they were 
soon called to part. The four now living are: 
Ralph J., born December 5, 1885; Marion R., 
born January 30, 1888; l-lzra G., born March 
21, 1S90; and Edna F. , born October 4, 
1891. 

As a public man Mr. Ewell is very popular. 
He has served as Chairman of the Republican 
Town Committee; was first elected to the 
Boaril of SelectmcTi in 1S83, and has been hon- 
ored with re-election every year since; and as 
Chairman of the Board he has given universal 
satisfaction. He is a member of North River 
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd I'ellows, at 
Hanover, Mass., and a charter member of 
David Church Post, No. i8g. Grand Army of 
the Republic, of which he was one year Com- 
mander. 



AMES W. O'NEIL, one of the partners 
of O'Ncil & Howes, successful contrac- 
tors of Brockton for interior house 
finish, was born in 1854, in Brechan, Forfar- 
shire, Scotland, near Kirrinniir, the home of 
Barrie, the novelist. His father, William 



5«S 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



O'Neil, also a native of ]5rechan, is still 
living there, being now seventy-two years 
of age, and an I^lder of the Free Church of 
Scotland. His mother, Elizabeth (Webster) 
O'Neil, now deceased, was a daughter of Will- 
iam Webster, a farmer of Brechan. They had 
five children — David W. , William, James W. , 
Mary, and Alfred. David W. is a member of 
the firm of Bradley & Currier, New York City, 
and of Freeman & O'Neil, of Claremont, N. H. 
The New York firm, whose place of business 
is located at the corner of Hudson and Spring 
Streets, are counted among the most extensive 
dealers in sashes, doors, and blinds in the 
United States. William is employed in a car- 
riage factory in Waterbury, Conn. ; Mary is 
the wife of George Priest, of New Haven, 
Conn. ; and Alfred is employed in the linen 
mill of Lyman Scott at Brechan, Scotland. 

James W. O'Neil was educated in his native 
town. At the age of ten years he went to 
work in a fla.x-mill. Subsequently, he was 
employed in the office of the Brechan Adver- 
tiser for eight months. Then, owing to trouble 
with his eyes, he was obliged to seek outdoor 
employment. Accordingly, he learned the 
carpenter's trade imder Alexander Smith, of 
Brechan, with whom he worked for about four 
years. He came to this country in 1872, and 
obtained employment in W. F. Badger's stair- 
shop on Wareham Street, Boston. There he 
remained some five years, and then for six 
years had charge of the stair department for 
Freeman & O'Neil, of Claremont, who have a 
large plant and do an extensive business. 
After spending another year with Mr. Badger 
in Boston, he came to Brockton in 1884, and 
entered into a copartnership with William E. 
Howes for the manufacture of interior house 
and store finish, such as mouldings, stairs, and 
mantels. The firm started in a small way by 
hiring a room in A. C. Thompson's wood- 



turning factory on Railroad Avenue, and which 
remained their place of business for three or 
four years. In October, 1888, they purchased 
Howard & Clark's furniture factory, where 
they have carried on their business since, and 
now employ about a dozen men. They have 
filled some costly and extensive contracts, in- 
cluding the interior finish of Emerson's shoe 
store on the corner of Water and Washington 
-Streets, Boston ; a handsome drug store in 
Marlboro, Mass. ; Goldthwaite's drug store on 
Main Street, Brockton ; and some twenty 
others in this vicinity. 

In 1880 Mr. O'Neil married Adele, daugh- 
ter of Archibald Atherton, of Claremont, N. H. 
Of the four children born to him, two are 
living — Amy E. and James Donald. Mr. 
O'Neil votes the Republican ticket. He be- 
longs to a number of social orders, including 
Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Brock- 
ton, and the American Benefit Society of this 
city, of which he is President. A member of 
the Baptist church, he takes an active interest 
in its welfare, and has been superintendent of 
the Sunday-school. 



SYMAN E. COPELAND, a member of 
the firm of L. P". and E. Copeland, 
^^0^ milk dealers and successful general 
farmers of West Bridgewater, was born here 
June 24, 184S, a son of Lyman and Susanna 
(Holmes) Copeland, both natives ot Plymouth 
County, Mass. 

Salmon Copeland, the father of Lyman, was 
a grandson of Jonathan Copeland (son of Will- 
iam and grandson of Lawrence, of Braintree), 
who married Betty Snell in 1723, and settled 
in West Bridgewater. Lyman, who was a life- 
long resident of this town, devoted his energies 
almost entirely to farming. In politics he was 
a Republican, and a leader in local affairs; and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5'9 



though tint a church nicmhcr, he was an atteiul- 
ant of tlic Methodist I'^piscopal church. lie 
died Decemher 26, 1884. Two of his chil- 
dren are living, namely: Lyman K., the direct 
subject of this sketch ; and Edmund, who was 
I)orn June 20, 1852. A younger brother, Wil- 
ton, born August 14, 1858, met his death by 
accident in December, 1886, being run over by 
the cars. He left a widow and two children. 
Mrs. Susanna H. Copeland, who still lives at 
the homestead, was born on May 9, 181 7, and 
has now nearly completed her eightieth year. 

Lyman E. Copeland grew to manhood on the 
farm where he now resides. After attending 
the public schools of West Bridgewater he was 
a student for a time at Hrockton Acaden)y and 
later at the Bryant and Stratton Commercial 
College of Boston, where he was graduated in 
1867. It is now about twenty years since he 
started in his present business, selling milk at 
retail in Brockton. His brother Edmund is a 
partner in this enterprise, which has proved a 
profitable one to them. They are also success- 
fully engaged in general farming. 

Lyman I"'. Copeland and Miss Louise F. 
Ilartwell, of Brockton, were joined in marriage 
on I-'ebruary 26, 1880. They have two chil- 
dren: a son, Wilton; and a daughter. Myrtle 
L. True to the political instruction and 
e.xamjile of his father, Mr. Copeland has ever 
been a faithful supporter of Republicanism. 
I-'raternally, he is a member of St. George 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Campello, Mass. 



M 



EACON GEORGE W. BAILEY, 
formerly one of the most prominent 
and highly respected business men of 
North Scituate, who died at his home in this 
town, January 11, 1891, was born in Scituate, 
August I, 1830, son of Job and Lydia (Wade) 
Bailey. His parents were natives of Scituate, 



and he was a representative of highly reputable 
ancestry on both sides of the family. 

George W. Bailey as a boy availed himself 
of every advantage offered by the public school 
system in his day. He was by nature a studi- 
ous seeker for knowledge, and in his youth he 
devoted his spare time to the reading of the 
works of Josephus and other standard authors. 
At the age of twenty years he decided to 
engage in business pursuits, and, establishing 
himself as a shoe manufacturer upon a small 
scale at North Scituate, he entered upon his 
business career with an energy which promised 
success from the start. When Mr. Bailey 
began shoe business he formed a copartnership 
with Mr. Jotham W. Bailey, under the firm 
name of G. W. and J. W. ]?ailey, and this 
association continued for tw-enty year.s. After 
that the subject of this sketch continued the 
business alone, but under the name of G. W. 
l^ailey & Co. As his prosperity increased he 
enlarged his facilities, and for many years em- 
ployed an average of fifty hands. The firm of 
G. W. Bailey & Co. became well-known in the 
shoe trade, was financially successful, and con- 
tinued in active operation until the death of its 
founder. 

The late Mr. Bailey was iM-ominently iiienti- 
fied with the progress and development of the 
business interests and with the general im- 
provement of the town, and was one of North 
Scituate's most progressive and public-spirited 
citizens. He took a deep interest in local 
affairs; and as Chairman of the School Board, 
over which he presided for a number of years, 
he rendered valuable service in behalf of 
public education. His death, which took place 
as above stated at the age of nearly si.\ty-one 
years, was not only a serious blow to the indus- 
tries of North Scituate, but removed from the 
community one of its most valuable and 
esteemed citizens, a man of noble nature and 



520 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



an affectionate disposition, the liome circle 
which he so ardently cherished being deprived 
of a loving husband and an indulgent and de- 
voted father. In politics he was a Republican, 
and for many years he was connected with the 
Baptist church as Deacon, Clerk, and Treas- 
urer. Mr. Bailey was especially a benevolent 
man. The widow and the fatherless always 
found in him a helper and a friend; and he 
was ever ready to assist with his means any 
good cause. 

On November 26, 1856, Mr. Bailey was 
united in marriage with Hannah W. Briggs, 
who, with one son, Herbert B. , now teller of 
the Boylston National Bank, Boston, and resid- 
ing in VVoUaston, Mass., survives him. Mrs. 
Bailey was born in Scituate, daughter of James 
Sylvester and Selina (Curtis) Briggs, and her 
ancestors for several generations were residents 
of this town. Walter Briggs, founder of this 
branch of the family in America, bought a farm 
in Scituate in 1651, and it is said "was long a 
useful man in the plantation." The "History 
of Shipbuilding on the North River," by L. 
Vernon Briggs, contains many interesting par- 
ticulars in regard to the Briggs family, several 
members of which have been prominent ship- 
builders. From this volume we learn that 
Walter Briggs had a son. Lieutenant James 
Briggs, whose son Benjamin, born in 1695, 
was the father of James, born November 16, 
'735' who held the office of Town Clerk 
twenty-five years, and was known as "Clark" 
Briggs. He died in 1834, aged ninety-nine 
years. His son, Joseph, born in 1776, was the 
father of James Sylvester Briggs, and grand- 
father of Mrs. Bailey. The Briggs family 
built ships at Hobart's Landing, probably as 
early as 1750, James, born in 17 19, being the 
first builder of this surname. James Sylvester 
and his brother, ]5arnabas W., built at the 
Harbor as early as 1834. 



Mrs. Bailey occupies the homestead, and has 
for a companion her sister, Mrs. C. M. Gray. 
These ladies are quite prominent in social 
circles, and are members of the Baptist 
church. 




LISHA WINSLOW ELLIS, dealer in 
general merchandise at Manomet, a 
part of Plymouth, Plymouth County, 
Mass., was born near Sagamore, October 29, 
1837, son of Elisha and Priscilla (Crowell) 
Ellis. His birthplace and that of his father 
was the old tavern situated in the village of 
Plllisville, South Plymouth, which was the 
home of his paternal grandparents, Thomas 
and Rebecca (Burgess) Ellis. 

His grandmother Ellis was born November 
29, i779i i'l Sandwich, daughter of Elisha 
Burgess, who was born in 1743, son of Zac- 
cheus Burgess. Jacob Burgess, father of 
Zaccheus, was a son of Jacob, first, and grand- 
son of Thomas Burgess, who arrived in Salem, 
Mass., with a small family in 1630, removed 
to Sandwich (Sagamore), Mass., in 1638, and 
died in 1685, aged eighty-two years. 

The maternal grandparents of Mr. Ellis 
were Paul and Sally (Sears) Crowell, who re- 
moved from East Dennis, Cape Cod, to Saga- 
more in the early part of the century. 

The children of Elisha PLllis and his wife 
Priscilla were: Elisha Winslow, the subject 
of this sketch, commonly known as E. Win- 
slow or E. W. Ellis; Priscilla Ann, born in 
December, 1840, who died in June, 1842; 
Priscilla Crowell, born January 4, 1845; 
Nathan Crowell, born December i, 1847, who 
died in January, 1891 ; Thomas Prince, born 
in November, 1849; Sarah Sears, born P^ebru- 
ary 10, 1852; Edmund Sears, born December 
31, 1853, who died in Florida in December, 
1890; and Benjamin Franklin, born in Novem- 
ber, 1857. The father was a farmer, and was 




ELISHA W. ELLIS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



523 



a lifelong resident of IMniikhiIIi. I'llisha I'illis 
passed away in 1892, at eighty-six years of 
age, his wife, Mrs. I'riscilla ICllis, having 
died in August, i<S8o, aged sixty-eight. 

]•;. Winsliiw I'lllis, their eldest child, grew 
to maturity on the home farm in I'lyniouth, ac- 
quiring his elementary education in the primary 
and grammar schools of his native town, lie 
then for two terms atteiidctl I'hillips Academy 
at North Andover, Mass., whither he went in 
Septemher, i<S55; and in 1856 he went to the 
l'ro\idence Conference Seminary, located at 
I'last Greenwich, R. I., which he attended fur 
five successive terms. Returning home in 
1861, he took charge of a coasting vessel as 
master; and in that ca]iacity he sailed for tour 
years, always owning an interest in the vessels 
which he ran. Having the misfortune to lose 
his vessel in 1865, he went to Worcester, 
Mass., where he learned the machinist's trade, 
serving an apprenticeshij:) of two years at the 
shops of K. Holbrook. He then removed to 
Boston, and was em]iloyed in the Old Colony 
Locomotive Works for nine years, acting for 
the last half-decade in the capacity of foreman 
of his department. In 1880 he went to Chi- 
cago, 111., where he was superintendent of the 
mechanical department of Swift & Co., beef 
|)ackers, for nine years. After spending two 
years at Omaha, Neb., for the company, in 
1889 he resigned, and, returning East, settled 
at Natick, Mass., where he had purchased a 
place, and where he resided for about eighteen 
niiiiiihs. Removing thence to Phniouth, he 
erected a dwelling and a store, in which latter 
he conducts a thriving business in general 
merchandise, including hay, feed, ice, 
builders' hardware, and the like. Since the 
winter of 1892 Mr. Mllis has odficiated as Post- 
master at Manomet. 

On November 8, 1863, Mr. Ellis was united 
in marriage with Miss Gertrude Nichols, 



daughter of Otis and .Sarah (Clark) Nichols, 
and they have had two children. A daughter, 
Hirdie H. Ellis, born August 25, 1866, in 
early womanhood was married to George De 
Loriea, of Chicago. .She died in that city 
on July I, 1892, shortly after the birth of 
a daughter. This little girl, Truellis De 
Loriea, a native of Chicago, now in her fifth 
year, has lived with her grandparents, Mr. 
and Mrs. Ellis, ever since she was four days 
old. The other child, also a daughter, was 
born in April, 1868, and lived but four days. 




ON. EHENEZER T. EOGG, for 
many years the leading merchant of 

^ ^ Norwell village and one of the best 
known and most highly respected citizens of 
this place, was born in South Scituate, now 
Norwell, October 30, 1826, and was one of 
seven children of Ebenezer Thayer Fogg. 

As a lad he was sent with his brothers and 
sisters to the public schools of Scituate; and 
at the age of seventeen he went to Boston to 
serve an apprenticeship to a ship-joiner. 
Having learned the trade, he worked at it for a 
number of years in the old town of Scituate, of 
which Norwell was then a part; and he after- 
ward opened the large general store in Norwell 
now managed by Litchfield & Curtis. For 
twenty-nine years prior to 18S6 he conducted 
this business, and during that time he made an 
e.\tended acquaintance with the people in all 
the towns about and gained universal respect 
and esteem. No one doubted Mr. Fogg's 
integrity; widows came to him with business 
entanglements; men named him in their wills 
as executor. He settled a large number of 
estates, and always with scrupulous honesty 
and a judgment in business that was considered 
by his fellow-townsmen almost infallible. 

In all matters touching the affairs of the 



524 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



town Mr. Fogg was actively interested; and 
he was always a leader in any movement look- 
ing toward the general good of the community. 
His fellow-citizens showed their appreciation 
of his abilities and his disinterestedness by 
apiDointing him to various positions of public 
trust. For over a quarter of a century he was 
Postmaster of Norwell, for forty years he was 
Town Clerk, and from 1861 until the time of 
his death he was the Town Treasurer. For 
over thirty-five years he was a qualified Justice 
of the Peace, and for many years a member of 
the School Board. In 1880 Mr. Fogg was sent 
as Representative from this district to the Sen- 
ate of the Commonwealth and served for two 
terms. While in the Senate he was a member 
of the committees on fisheries, on roads and 
bridges, and on woman suffrage. Well known 
as a capable financier, he was appointed Re- 
ceiver of the old Scituate Savings Bank, and 
was Treasurer of the South Scituate Savings 
Bank from 1S60 until his death. He was also 
a Director in the Hingham Fire Insurance 
Company of Hingham, Mass. 

Mr. Fogg and Miss Helen L. Smith, of 
Du.xbury, were married on October 5, 1859. 
Three sons and a daughter were born into their 
home, namely: Ebenezer T. , the eldest son, 
who is a shoe manufacturer of Cambridge, 
Mass. ; George Hichborn, who died in infancy; 
Helen H., the wife of Walter R. Torrey, a 
prominent citizen of Norwell; and Horace T., 
who is a rising young lawyer in the county. 

Hon. Ebenezer Fogg died February i, 1897, 
lamented by all who had the good fortune to 
know him. In religious views a Unitarian, he 
was an active and benevolent member of the 
Norwell church, and had been for many years 
Treasurer of that organization. 

Horace T. Fogg, the youngest son, received 
his preparatory education in the public schools 
and in the academy at Uuxbury and at Thayer 



Academy in Braintree, graduating from the last 
named in 1886. In September of the same 
year he entered Harvard in the class .of 1890; 
and he remained in the University until 1893, 
when he graduated from the Law School and 
was admitted to the Suffolk County Bar. He 
has an office at 31 Milk Street, Boston, and 
another in Norwell ; and in the three years 
since beginning his career as a lawyer, owing 
somewhat to the prestige of his father's name 
as well as to his own ability, he has gained a 
large number of clients, and his success may 
be considered as assured. He is a member of 
Phoenix Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Hanover, 
Pilgrim Chapter, Royal Arch Masons of 
Abington, and Old Colony Commandery of 
Knights Templars; also of North River 
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
On the death of his father he was appointed 
Treasurer of the South Scituate Savings Bank, 
which he had been identified with for three 
years as a Trustee. He was also appointed 
Town Treasurer. 



T^HARLES E. TISDALE, leading 
I >p member of the Cochesett shoe manu- 
\j^ ^ facturing firm of C. E. Tisdale & 
Co., successors to E. Tisdale, who established 
the business in 1S4S, was born in Cochesett, 
Plymouth County, Mass., February 6, 1853, 
son of Edward and Amanda (Ripley) Tisdale. 

Eidward Tisdale, the founder of the business 
in which his son is now engaged, was a native 
of Sharon, Mass., where he was born in 1822, 
son of Colonel Israel Tisdale. He received 
in his youth a good common-school education. 
When he began the manufacture of boots and 
shoes, the work was done entirely by hand ; 
but, as his business increased, he enlarged his 
plant, putting in machinery, until, in 1862 or 
1863, the present dimensions were attained. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



52s 



The factory is eciuijiiiccl with niodcni machinery 
and steam-power, and can furnish employment 
to fifty hands, although one-half that number 
is the average at the present time. Mr. Va\- 
ward Tisdale continued to conduct the business 
until 1892, when he was succeeded by his son. 
He died December 6, i8g6. Mrs. Tisdale 
died November 29, 1869. Five of their chil- 
dren are living, namely: Charles V.. ; Alice, 
wife of J. Nelson Harris, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 
Frank S. , in Cochesett, Mass. ; Lizzie, resid- 
ing in Boston ; and Mary, the wife of A. H. 
Alger, of Brockton. A daughter Dora has 
passed away. 

Charles E. Tisdale, the eldest child, re- 
ceived his early education in the Cochesett 
public schools and at Bridgewater Academy, 
after which he took a business course at the 
Bryant & Stratton Commercial College, Bos- 
ton. He began his business career as a dealer 
in general merchandise in Cochesett, conduct- 
ing a store here for several years; and after 
that he entered the employ of his father, whom 
he served a number of years as book-keeper, 
salesman, and superintendent of the business, 
finally in 1892 becoming a partner in the firm 
of C. E. Tisdale & Co., with which he is still 
identified. They make a specialty of the man- 
ufacture of fine calf, satin calf, and veal calf 
boots and shoes, welted, machine-sewed, stand- 
ard screw, and pegged. Their Boston office is 
at 91 Bedford Street. 

In 1885 Mr. Tisdale married Alice L. Pack- 
ard, a daughter of the late Nahum Packard, of 
West Bridgewater, Mass. 

For seven years Mr. Tisdale has served as 
Collector and Treasurer of West Bridgewater, 
and in 1896 he was elected to the ofiRce of 
Selectman. His father has been a member of 
the State legislature. Fraternally, Mr. Tis- 
dale is a member of St. George Lodge, A. !•". 
& A. M., at Campello, Mass. He is a Trustee 



of the Howard I'und for the support of the 
Howard Seminary for Young Ladies and a 
I-'ree High School for both .se.xes. Since his 
father's death Mr. Tisdale has been acting 
Postmaster of Cochesett. 



()Ii\ V. LUCE, who was formerly a 
mariner and is now an ice dealer, is an 
important factor of the industrial inter- 
ests of the town of Marion, Plymouth County. 
The only child of the late Captain John G. 
Luce, he was born on October 17, 1852, in the 
house which he now owns and occupies. 

Captain Luce began life as a sailor boy, and 
foi- more than thirty years followed the sea, 
being Commander and part owner of many 
vessels. He visited various partsof the globe, 
and in his last years his mind was filled with 
reminiscences of his voyages. He died 
November 8, 1888, aged nearly fourscore. 
His wife, Nancy C. Hammond, was a native of 
Marion, and she lived there until her death, 
which occurred in April, 1867, at the age of 
forty-seven years. 

John F^. Luce acquired a good common- 
school education in the village of Marion, and 
at the age of fifteen years went to sea with his 
father, under the Captain's tuition becoming 
familiar with the duties of cabin boy and deck 
hand. Going then to Boston he obtained a 
situation on the Nickerson line of steamers 
running from that city to Halifa.x, N. S. , and 
in the latter part of his sea life he was a mate. 
Mr. Luce then returned to the place of his 
nativity to care for his father, who was in 
feeble health, and has since been prosperously 
engaged in his present business. He is well 
known throughout the localitv as a man of good 
business principles and methods, honest and 
upright in his dealings. He has served his 
fellow-townsmen as Selectman six years, hav- 



526 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing been Chairman of the Hoard two years, and 
as Assessor and Overseer of the Poor the same 
length of time. In politics Mr. Luce is a 
stanch Republican, never swerving from party 
allegiance. 

On October 29, 1S96, he was married to 
Miss Louise IJlankinship, daughter of Seth and 
Katherine G. Blankinship, of Marion. 



rojTENRY J. CURTIS, President of the 
l-^ South Scituate Savings Bank, is an 
[js 1^ inflnential citizen of the town of 
Hanover, where he has taken an active part in 
the conduct of public affairs. He was born in 
Scituate (now Norwell), June 2, 1822. His 
parents were Stephen and Mary S. Curtis, both 
of whom died when he was very young. 

At the age of thirteen Henry J. Curtis came 
to Hanover to live; and two years later he was 
obliged to assume the real duties of life, sup- 
porting himself from that time on. When six- 
teen he went to work at the shoemaker's trade, 
and this was his occupation for several years. 
In 1848 he removed from Hanover to South 
Scituate, and resided there till 1864, when he 
returned to Hanover. He next entered a store 
in Hanover as clerk, and followed that occupa- 
tion for several years. Having gained a practi- 
cal knowledge of the business and wishing to 
embark in some trade or occupation in which 
he would receive larger returns for his labor 
than he had realized heretofore, he opened a 
general store at Assinnippi, and conducted a 
prosperous business thereuntil 1872, or about 
fifteen years, since which time he has lived 
retired, having laid by ample means for his 
needs. Although deprived of educational ad- 
vantages in his youth, his quickness of obser- 
vation and careful reading have stored his mind 
with practical information, and he is a notable 
type of the self-educated man. 



In politics Mr. Curtis is a Republican. 
The first public ofifice in which he served was 
that of Town Clerk of South Scituate, being 
elected in 1850, and serving until 1855. A 
year later, in 1856, he was elected to represent 
South Scituate in the Lower House of the 
State legislature; and again, in 1871, he was 
elected from South Scituate and Hanover, the 
two towns forming one representative district. 
From 1872 to 1876 he served as Selectman, 
Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor of Han- 
over; and he has held the office of School 
Committee several years in this town. He 
was appointed Justice of the Peace by Gover- 
nor N. P. Banks, and has often been called 
upon to settle estates of deceased persons 
through the probate courts. He has been one 
of the Trustees of the South Scituate Savings 
Bank thirty-seven years, its Secretary for 
twenty-six years, and is at the present time 
(1897) President of said bank. 

In 1848 Mr. Curtis was married to Miss 
Abbie S. Jacobs, daughter of Ichabod R. 
Jacobs, Esq., and his wife, Clarissa Jacobs, of 
South Scituate. They have no children. 
During his whole life Mr. Curtis has been in- 
terested in the Universalist church, and with 
his wife has been constant in attendance at the 
church services. 



I^.RESCOTT H. JACKSON, a well- 
v*^ known citizen of Brockton, where he 
-^ carries on business as a contractor 
and builder, was born in East Bridgewater, 
Plymouth County, Mass., August 8, 1859, his 
parents being Abner C. and Lydia S. (Wade) 
Jackson. His grandfather, George Jackson, 
a native of Halifax, Plymouth County, was for 
a number of years profitably engaged in nail 
manufacturing. Abner C. Jackson was born 
in Halifax, and received his education in the 




CHARLES S. GLEASON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



529 



common schools of that town. He afterward 
settled in East Hridgcwater, where he carried 
on a large business as contractor and builder, 
doing work in most of the towns in Plymouth 
County. He was a master of his craft, and 
when at the height of his active career was 
-said to be the best framer and builder in the 
county. He was in Inisincss for fifty-five 
years; and he still resides in East Bridge- 
water, being now eighty-four years of age. 
Ry his wife, Lydia S. , who was a daughter of 
John Wade, of Halifax, Mass., he had eight 
sons, of whom four are living; namely, John 
A., George W. , Abner, and Prescott H. 

Prescott H. Jackson, who was the youngest 
child of his parents, received a practical com- 
mon-school education. At the age of eighteen 
he became an apprentice to the carpenter's 
trade, coming to Hrockton in the spring of 
1877, and serving three years. He then went 
into business in company with A. E. Wood- 
ward, under the style of Woodward & Jackson, 
and the firm lasted for about two years. Since 
severing his connection with Mr. Woodward 
Mr. Jackson has conducted business alone. 
He has built several school-houses and public 
buildings, besides private residences in Brock- 
ton and the vicinity. In 1881 he married 
Lizzie H. Nash, daughter of Henry F. Na.sh, 
of North Bridgewater. He has one son, Ralph 
Prescott, who is attending school. The fam- 
ily attend the Universalist church of Brockton. 
Mr. Jackson is a member of the Commercial 
Club, also of Damocles Lodge, No. 16, 
Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Re- 
publican. 

« < ■ * » ■ 

IIARLES S. GLEASON, M.D., a 
descendant of Thomas Gleason, who 
came from England in 1760, and a 
promising young physician of Wareham, 
Mass., was born on February 8, 1865, in 




Oakland, Kennebec County, Me. He is a 
son of Benjamin and Caroline V. (Mclntire) 
Gleason, and one of a family of ten children, 
as follows: Carrie IC, B. Frank, Laura li., 
Lincoln, Charles Shuman, Harry C. , Chester 
E., Susie N., Howard P., Arthur A., all 
to-day living, the youngest, Arthur A., being 
niiw twenty-two years of age. Dr. Gleason's 
great-grandfather, IClijah Gleason, was born 
in Pomfret, Conn., in 1771 ; his grandfather, 
Bryant Gleason, a soldier of the War of 1812, 
was born in Waterville, Me., in 1793; and 
his father, Benjamin Gleason, was born in 
Canaan, Me., March 8, 1828. 

Charles S. Gleason obtained his early edu- 
cation in his native town, attending the com- 
mon schools, the high school, and Oak Grove 
Seminary, Vassalboro, Me. He subsequently 
took the prescribed course of study at the 
Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Kents Hill, 
Me., where he was graduated in 1888. The 
following four years he was a student of the 
Boston University School of Medicine, from 
which he received his diploma in 1892. Dur- 
ing the last two years at Boston University he 
was resident physician at the Consumptives' 
Home, Ro.xbury District, Boston. After his 
graduation Dr. Gleason succeeded Dr. George 
H. luirle at Wareham, where he is fast building 
up a lucrative practice, his skill and prompti- 
tude already winning for him a good patronage. 
During his college days he earned his own way, 
receiving no financial assistance. He is a 
close student in his profession and a deep 
thinker upon all matters pertaining thereto. 

Politically, the Doctor is a stanch Republi- 
can. Fraternally, he is identified with the 
Masonic order, being a member of Social Har- 
mony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Wareham; 
of St. Paul Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of 
Boston; and of Boston Commandery, Knights 
Templars. Dr. Gleason also belongs to various 



530 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



medical associations, notably the Massachu- 
setts Homoeopathic Medical Society, the Mas- 
sachusetts Surgical and the Gynaecological So- 
ciety, the ]?oston Medical Society and Ameri- 
can Institute of HomcKopathy. In Wareham 
he is serving as Chairman of the Board of 
Health. 




"ENRY HOWARD NORTHEY, of 
Scituate, is the proprietor and mana- 
ger of the "Old Oaken Bucket 
Farm," on which is the well made famous by 
Samuel Woodworth : — 

" How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood. 

When fond recollection presents them to view ! — 
The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, 

And every loved spot that my infancy knew ; 
The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it. 

The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell ; 
The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it. 

And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well, — 
The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket. 

The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well." 

Mr. Northey was born in Scituate, October 
28, 1828. His parents were Joseph and Han- 
nah (Wade) Northey. His family has long 
been established in Scituate. His grand- 
father, Captain Joseph Northey, a lifelong 
resident here, was a descendant of one of the 
early settlers, John Northey by name, whose 
infant son figured in connection with the early 
struggles with the Indians. The town was 
unexpectedly attacked during the absence of 
the said John; and the distracted mother fled 
to the garrison house, leaving her infant son 
asleep and unprotected in the cradle. The 
Indians entered the dwelling, and, having sat- 
isfied their curiosity in regard to some bread 
baking in the oven, departed, leaving the child 
unharmed, as was soon ascertained by a party 
from the garrison-house. 

Joseph Northey, Jr., father of Henry How- 
ard, and foster-brother of the author of the 



"Old Oaken Bucket," was born in Scituate, 
and passed his life on the farm now owned by 
his son. He served in the War of 1812, and 
was for years Lieutenant in the State militia. 
His wife also was born in this town. They 
were the parents of four sons — Joseph, Har- 
vey D., George, and Henry Howard, the third, 
who is the only one of the family now living. 

Henry Howard Northey was reared amid the 
scenes of farm life, and educated in the public 
schools of Scituate. He succeeded his father 
as manager of this farm, and has been engaged 
in agricultural pursuits practically all his life. 
The famous well is situated quite near his 
house, and the water is as sweet and satisfying 
as it was when the poem was written. Mr. 
Northey is one of the leading farmers of the 
town, and has been for a number of years a 
Director in the Marshfield Agricultural and 
Horticultural Societ)'. 

In 1866 he was united in marriage with 
Ellen Harrub, a native of .Scituate, daughter 
of Darius and Matilda (Schultz) Harrub (both 
deceased) ; and three children have blessed 
their union: Mary Alice; Isabel, wife of 
Charles Thompson Murray ; and Samuel 
Woodworth (deceased). Mary Alice is a 
graduate of the Scituate High School and the 
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston. 
Isabel is a graduate of the Scituate High 
School and Wellesley College, Wellesley, 
Mass. Mr. Northey, who is a Republican, 
has served on the Scituate Board of Selectmen 
for a number of years. A Unitarian in relig- 
ious preference, he is a Trustee of the church 
at Scituate Centre. 



■AMES N. CHAMBERLAIN, a suc- 
cessful real estate dealer of Brockton, 
Mass., was bornjin Conway, "N.H., 
March 15, 1837, son of James Otis and Betsy 



BlOGRAPrtlCAL REVIEW 



5it 



(Hill) Chamberlain. "1-hr belongs to an old 
English family, the original ancestors in 
America being, it is claimed, three brothers 
who came hither in the Colonial days, two of 
them settling in I'^astern and Western Maine, 
respectively, the other brother settling in Vir- 
ginia. Thus the traditional account. ^Savage,, 
-hftw'evcr.,. mentions a number of early settlers 
of this name, among them Henry Chamberlain, 
of Hingham, who came in 1638; Edmund (or 
possibly Edward), of Woburn, who removed to 
Chelmsford in 1655; Thomas, of Woburn, 
1644; William, of Boston, 1647; Richard, of 
Portsmouth, a Counaellor in 1682. '' • 

John Chamberlain,' father of James - Q t is, 
\vas-afa^ithftif -tiller tofthe-^oi+ in Conway, 
wbwe,tivo of the family 8ti41 reside, one other 
bcing^ North CaiToli'^'^- During the War of 
1812. "Gi^ndfather "^"Chamberlain voluntarily 
laid dmwx^his koe for a musket. '/James Otis 
Chamberlain was extensively engaged in farm- 
ing and lumbering, being a drover for twenty- 
five years. He married Betsy, daughter of 
Henry Hill, of Bromfield, Me., and they be- 
came the parents of seven children, all of 
whom grew to maturity; namely,' Marshallj 
James N.j Clarinda, ;fti4i»,:Tryphemia, Will- 
iam, and Nancy. Ciafw>4ft married Mr. Dol- 
oph, of Conway; Julia .married Albert Pack- 
ard, of Brockton; antl Tryphemiajjecame Mrs. 
Samuel Waterman, of 4vis citf.'*' Nancy.^i^iar- 
ried William Rounds, of Brownfield, M^. , and 
she has sirrce- died^ The father' arid' mothetC 
who were religiously prominent in the Baptist 
church, both passed to the life immortal at 
the age of seventy-three. ■^ ■ 
l^James N. Chamberlain, attex acquinng^ a 
fair knowledge of the common luiglish 
branches, left home when he was twenty, 
going to Danvers, Mas.s. , where he worked one 
year. Alternating a year of work with a year 
of study, he finished his education, attending 



.u>>-~ 



Goshen, Parsonfield, and Sandwich Academies. 
He also paid the expenses of the schooling of 
his two, sisters for two years. He then re- 
turned to Danvers and worked at the shoe busi- 
ness, doing contract work for I. P. Boardman, 
and subsequently for Ira P. Pope. In Octo- 
ber, 1865, he came to Brockton, where he en- 
gaged in shoe contract , work ; and while thus 
engaged he invested in real estate, buying a 
[)iece of land about nineteen rods by four and 
a half rods, situated on the corner of Belmont 
and Bret Streets. i+i this city. He trmrght it 
-for four hundred and twenty-five dollars^ and 
later sold a part of it for eighteen hundred dol- 
lars, thereby proving his good judgment in in- 
vesting. /(In 1884 Mr. Chamberlain opened a 
general merchandise store, in which he did a 
safe business for nine years, selling out the 
plant in the spring of 1893 to his sons, to 
whom he gave their time when they were but 
sixteen years old. Mr. Chamberlain has en- 
gaged with success in breeding fancy pigeons, 
lop-eared rabbits, and other pet stock, receiv- 
ing for the birds from one to twenty-five dol- 
lars a pair. In view of the fact that he was 
ninety-three dollars in dcl)t when ho first com- 
menced speculation, his financial success is all 
the more marked. 

Mr. Chamberlain was united in marriage 
on October 15, 1S66, to Susan, daughter of 
Benjamin Eaton, of Brockton; they are the 
parents of six children — Carrie S., Alice S., 
iJly May, James' F. , Franklin ]Sf. , and Clar- 
ence E. Carrie S. Ghamberlain marriecj Lu- 
cian McLoon, and resides in Tyngsboro, 
Mass. ; Alice S.,^was married May iS, 1896, 
to Frank Wade, son of Hiram Wade^of this 
city.and died December 16, 1896;,, The sons, 
as before mentioned, manage the store. Lily 
May, the youngest child, is still under the 
paternal- roof. In politics Mr. Chamberlain 
is a Republican. 



^^ 



t" 



532 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



In 1880 he sold his property on the corner 
of Brett and Belmont Streets/ and bought a 
lot of land on the corner of Belmont and Brook 
Streets:, and since then he has been adding te 
this till it now c©«tains nearly forty-four thou- 
sand square feet, with twenty-four tenements 
thereon, mostly built by himself. Mr. Cham- 
berlain also owns another lot on the north side 
of Belmont Street, which contains two tene- 
ments. He thinks it is within the reach of 
any man who is in health to have a good home. 




BNER J. CLARK, a shoemaker and 
carpenter by trade, is now devoting 
his time to carrying on the old 
Clark farm in Middleboro, which was settled 
by Noah Clark, his grandfather, and which has 
been his own home since he was two years old. 
He was born at Middleboro, January 9, 1839, 
son of Zebulon L. and Abigail E. "(Barrows) 
Ckrk. 

Noah Clark, a native of the part of Middle- 
boro which is now Lakeville, was a son of 
Noah, Sr. , and grandson of Ezra Clark. The 
father and grandfather of Ezra were Thomas 
and Thomas, Sr., the latter of Welsh descent, 
but a native of England, whence he came to 
this country at an early date. He married 
Martha Curtis in 1676, and had eleven chil- 
dren. Zebulon L. and Abigail Clark were the 
parents of four children; namely, Maria A., 
Abner J., Alvira F., and Abbie A. 

Abner J. Clark, the second child and only 
son of his parents, enjoyed but scanty oppor- 
tunities for schooling in his boyhood, and is, 
for the most part, self-educated, having taken 
up the active duties of life when but ten years 
old. He began with shoemaking, and later on 
engaged in carpentry, which he followed 
during the summers and worked at shoemaking 
winters, but Middleboro has always been his 



home. There are about forty acres of land in 
the homestead, and he carries on general farm- 
ing with success. Mr. Clark is a member of 
Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a 
Republican. 

'ff^ERRIE A. ELDRIDGE, M.D., of 
Wareham, Mass., was born in the town 
of Harwich, this State, November 18, 
1866. His parents were William Marshall 
and Hannah A. (Crowell) Eldridge, both of 
old Barnstable County families. They had 
five children, three of whom died in infancy: 
William A. ; and Jerrie A., the special sub- 
ject of this sketch, are the two now living. 

Jerrie A. Eldridge acquired the rudiments 
of learning in the public schools of Harwich. 
Before taking up his professional studies he 
worked in a drug-store for si.x years, becoming 
familiar with the nature and use of chemicals 
and medicines, and expert in putting up pre- 
scriptions. In 1887 he entered the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons at Philadelphia, 
and after three years of close and earnest 
study received his diploma from that institu- 
tion in 1890. He also attended lectures at 
Tufts Medical College, and was there gradu- 
ated in June, 1897. In 1S90 he settled in 
Wareham ; and he is now in command of a 
growing practice. 

Dr. Eldridge is a member of the Massachu- 
setts Medical Society. In 1895 he opened a 
drug-store in Wareham, which is already the 
centre of a successful trade. Besides being 
town physician he is a member of the Board of 
Health. 

He was married in 1887 to Miss Eva I. 
Despeaux, of Medway, Mass., daughter of 
Charles and Mary (Howard) Despeaux, and 
has three children: I^"anny S., born June 26, 
18S9; Stephen M., born March 25, 1891 ; 



BIOGRA PH ICAL RKVI FAV 



5.V3 



and Lyili;i, boin May ii, 1S9J, The Doctor 
is very popular in society, and is a prominent 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and of the order of Pilgrim Fathers. He 
and his wife are members of the Methodist 
F^piscopal church, of which he is one of the 
trustees. 




ALTlvR H. FAUNCI-:, o+ie^of the 
lioard of County Commissioners of 
I'lymouth County, and a widely 
known and respected resident of Kingston, is 
a scion of old English stock well rooted in 
New England soil. He was born in one of 
the oldest houses in this town, November 16, 
1832, son of Charles C. and Amelia (Wash- 
burn) Faunce. His parents were natives and 
residents of Kingston, as were his ancestors 
on both sides for several generations; and he 
is descended through various branches from 
some of the original Plymouth colonists who 
came to this country on the "Mayflower." 
The Faunccs are lineal descendants of John 
Faunce, who landed at Plymouth from the ship 
"Ann" in August, 1623. They have been 
active in the public affairs of this town, and 
many of them have worthily filled positions of 
trust and responsibility. John I'aunce, of the 
fifth generation, born in 1747, an uncle of 
Charles C. P"aunce, was for many years a 
Selectman, Treasurer, and Overseer of the 
Poor, and also a member of the State legis- 
lature. 

The great-grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch was John Faunce, of the fourth genera- 
tion, who married Mrs. Hannah (Bisbee) 
Cook. Their son, Elijah, the next in line, 
married Lydia Waterman, a daughter of Icha- 
bod Waterman, of- Kingston. Charles C. 
Faunce, son of Elijah and father of Walter H. 
Faunce, was a prominent citizen of this town, 
and a leading spirit in public affairs. He 



served as Town Clerk for fifteen years. 11 i> 
wife, Amelia, was a daughter of Seth and 
Sarah (Adams) Washburn. Her father, for- 
merly a well-known resident of this town, 
lived to the venerable age of ninety-two 
years. 

Walter H. I'aunce acquired his education 
in the public schools of Kingston and at 
the academy in East Greenwich, R.I. After 
finishing his preparatory studies, he engaged 
in educational work in his native town, where 
for fifteen years he was actively connected 
with the public schools, and rendered valuable 
services to the town as a member of the 
School Committee for twenty-five years, sev- 
eral years of which he acted as Chairman of 
the School Board. In politics he is a firm 
supporter of Republican principles. His con- 
nection with the Board of Selectmen and As- 
sessors of Kingston covers a period of twelve 
years, eight years of which he has presided 
over that body as Chairman. He is also 
Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the 
Poor. In 1880 he was elected to the House 
of Representatives, where he served upon the 
Committee on Insurance. He is now serving 
his tenth year as a County Commissioner, has 
been a Justice of the Peace for over thirty 
years, .and was a member of the Republican 
State Central Committee for two years. He 
is actively interested in all measures cal- 
culated to improve the general welfare and 
development of the industrial and agricultural 
resources of this section, has acted as Vice- 
President of the Plymouth County Agricult- 
ural Society, and as Trustee of Marshfield 
Agricultural Society. He is a member of 
Corner Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Dux- 
bur)', Mass. ; and also a member of Adams 
Lodge, Indejiendent Order of Odd Fellows, of 
Kingston. 

Mr. Faunce has been twice married. His 



534 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



first wife, Arabella Ryder, a native of Plym- 
outh, became the mother of two children, 
namely: Lucy D., who is residing at home; 
and Charles M., a graduate of Harvard 
College, and formerly an instructor at the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 
Boston. His present wife was before mar- 
riage Elizabeth Brown. She is a native 
of Smithfield, R.I. 



WILLIAM W. COPELAND, station 
agent at North Hanson, was born in 
East Bridgewater, Plymouth County, 
Mass., January lo, 1856, son of Roland and 
Elizabeth O. (Osborne) Copeland. Hezekiah 
Copeland, his grandfather, was a native of 
West Bridgewater, and .a carpenter by trade. 
In 1822 he moved to Acworth, N.H. ; and he 
died at the age of eighty-one years. He mar- 
ried Lucy Moore, of Acworth, N. H., and they 
had six children. Their son Roland was also 
born in West Bridgewater, where he attended 
public school until he was si.xteen years of age. 
He then turned his attention to agricultural 
pursuits, in which he was engaged during the 
rest of his life. He and his wife I^lizabeth 
had six children. 

William W. Copeland, the youngest child 
of his parents, having acquired a common- 
school education, entered the employ of C. L. 
Howland, dealer in hay, grain, flour, and coal, 
as clerk. In 1879 he was appointed station 
agent of the Old Colony Railroad at North 
Hanson, which position he still holds. Mr. 
Copeland also carries on the business of Mr. 
C. L. Howland under his own name. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. He has served the 
town capably as Selectman, Overseer of the 
Poor, and Assessor. On October 15, i8go, he 
married Cora F. , daughter of Aaron Healy, of 
Whitman. 




ILLIAM J. WRIGHT, who has 
been a permanent resident of Dux- 
bury, Mass., for nearly thirty years, 
is a well-known member of the upper stratum 
of Boston society, belonging to the Somerset 
and other clubs of that city, and having many 
social connections through the family of his 
mother, who resides in Boston. This lady is 
the elder daughter of the late John S. Wright, 
one of the merchant kings of Boston, for 
many years senior partner of the great dry- 
goods and commission house of J. S. & E. 
Wright. Mr. J. S. Wright, who was one of 
thirteen children, was a son of Dr. Ebenezer 
Wright, an eminent physician. He was de- 
scended from military ancestors, as evidenced 
by the records in the War Department at 
Washington and in the archives of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, from which 
sources of information the following extracts 
are taken : — 

"At Squakheage ye 2nd of Sept., 1675, 
8 men slayn. Samuel Write, Sergt. " Mas- 
sachusetts Archives, vol. 68, p. ^^. The Sam- 
uel Write here mentioned is the first of a 
direct line of ancestors of whom the grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch was the 
sixth, the others being: Elizur, second; Ben- 
oni or Benony, third; Moses, fourth; and 
Ebenezer, fifth. Of Elizur Wright no mili- 
tary record has yet been found, though the fact 
is known that he served in one of the Colonial 
wars. He was Town Moderator of Northfield 
and a leading man of that place. 

The name of Benoni Wright (or Benony, as 
it is sometimes siaelled) occurs several times 
in the Massachusetts military archives, once 
in an account of the garrison soldiers at 
Northfield (The Third Soldiery), from May 31 
to July 24, 1772, vol. 91, p. 30, and again as 
follows : — 

"A muster roll of the company in his Maj- 





WILLIAM J. WRIGHT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



537 



esty's service under command of Samuel ]?er- 
nard, Captain. Henony Wright, Northamp- 
ton, July 24 to Novemi)cr 20, 1772, service 
17 weeks, i day, for wages due ^8, lis., 5</. " 
Vol. 91, p. 48. 

"An account of the soldiers' names under 
ye command of Capt. Joseph Kellogg, in his 
Majesty's service at Northfield — part of his 
company at Dearfield. Benoni Wright." 
Vol. 91, p. 100. 

"A muster roll of the company in his Maj- 
esty's service under the command of Joseph 
Kellogg of Suffield, Captain, Henoni Wright, 
Corporal, Northfield, Nov. 20, May 19, 26 
weeks." Vol. 91, p. loi. See also vol. 91, 
p. 237, and vol. 91, p. 240; vol. 92, p. 79; 
vol. 92, p. 161. 

The name of Moses Wright, of Northfield, 
may be fouml in the military archives of Mas- 
sachusetts, where it appears (in vol. 92, p. 98) 
as one of a list of men posted at P'ort Pelhani 
under command of Samuel Child in 1747. On 
p. 116, same volume, it appears on the muster 
roll of the company under Captain Kleazer 
Melvin in 1748, his term of service being 
given as eleven weeks, and pay ^5, 14.?., 
4</. It is also on the muster roll of Captain 
Phineas Stevens' company, October 21, 1748, 
to April 13, 1749 (vol. 92, p. 201), and on 
the roll of the "company in his Majesty's ser- 
vice under the command of John Carlin, Cap- 
tain," dated Deerfield, November 29, 1749. 
In a manuscript volume entitled "Minutes of 
Counsel of Appointment, vol. i," in the cus- 
tody of the Regents of the State of New York, 
the appointment is recorded on October 24, 
1778, of Moses Wright as Captain in the com- 
pany from Rockingham, Cumberland County, 
N.V. (now in Vermont), belonging to the 
First Cumberland County Regiment of the New 
York militia, which regiment was commanded 
by Colonel Eleazer Patterson; also that said 



regiment was employed in active service in the 
Revolutionary War. The records in the Rec- 
ord and Pension Office at Washington, D. C. , 
show that Moses Wright served in the Si.xth 
Company, Third Massachusetts Regiment, 
commanded by Colonel M. Jackson, Revolu- 
tionary War. His name appears on the com- 
pany muster roll for August and September, 
1783, dated October 14, 1783, which bears 
the remarks: "Term of enlistment, 5, 22; 
time since last muster or enlistment, July 31." 

The records in the above-named office also 
show that Mbenezer Wright served as a private 
in Captain Joseph Esterbrook's company, in 
Colonel Bedel's New Hampshire Regiment, 
Revolutionary War. His name appears on a 
pay-roll dated at Montreal, April 26, 1776, 
without remark. On the Revolutionary rolls 
in the archives of the State of New Hampshire 
the name of Ebenezer Wright appears on the 
"Pay roll of Capt. Joseph Esterbrook's com- 
pany in Col. Bedel's regiment raised by order 
of the Continental Congress in the Colony of 
New Hampshire in defence of the liberties of 
America. Joined the Northern Continental 
Army, 1776." 

Thomas Russell, a great-great-grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch on the maternal 
side, took an active part against the British in 
the Revolutionar}- War, the records in the 
Adjutant-general's office at Hartford, Conn., 
showing that he "marched from the town of 
Wethcrsfield as private for the relief of Boston 
in the Lexington alarm, April 1775; number 
of days in service, si.x. " "Served as private 
in Captain Squire Hill's Company, Samuel 
McClellan's regiment. Arrived in camp July 
I, 1775. (This company engaged until 
March ist, 1776)." The records of the State 
of New Ilamjishire at Concord show the name 
of Thomas Russell as a private in Captain 
Philip Putnam's Company, Colonel Nahum 



538 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Baldwin's regiment, raised in September, 

1776, and sent into the State of New York. 
This regiment was in the battle of White 
Plains, October 28, 1776, and was dismissed 
early in December, 1776. A roll-call of 
Colonel Benjamin Bellows' regiment of 
militia in the State of New Hampshire, which 
regiment reinforced the garrison at Ticon- 
deroga when besieged by the British in June, 

1777, mentions Thomas Russell as a private, 
engaged June 28, 1777; discharged, July 9, 
1777. 

John S. Wright, son of Ebenezer Wright, 
M.D., was born June 30, 1788, in Plainfield, 
Vt., and started in business in Thetford, that 
State, when a very young man, his associate 
being George Peabody, later the famous 
banker (of London, England). In 1S24 Mr. 
Wright went to Boston, and for a number of 
years he was engaged in the management of 
one of the banks of that city. In 1832, as a 
member of the firm of Parks, Wright & Co., 
he engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, 
and the house established at that time became 
one of the permanent and reliable commercial 
concerns of Boston. Although, as the years 
went on, there were some changes in the firm 
name, which was at one time Wright & Whit- 
man and subsequently J. S. & E. Wright, the 
management included from the beginning one 
or more of the same partners, and Mr. Wright 
was always at the head. The firm controlled 
an immense business, representing seventeen 
large manufacturing companies; and its 
annual sales amounted to upward of fifteen 
million dollars. Having passed safely through 
the commercial crash of 1857, the house had 
an established reputation for financial solidity, 
and its mercantile credit was always remark- 
ably high. Mr. Wright was seldom absent 
from his counting-room in business hours, 
even during his last years, and was prompt and 



methodical as he wished his clerks to be. 
Honest and upright, he was just to all men, 
and a kind and true friend. He recpiired of 
no one what he would not have done himself 
under the same circumstances; and it was by 
his close and conscientious application to busi- 
ness that he accumulated his immense fortune 
— over two million dollars. He left his home 
in Brookline for his j^lace of business Friday 
morning, June 27, 1874, and during the day 
was slightly indisposed. The trouble he at- 
tributed to indigestion, and expected to be 
able to resume his duties on Monday; but on 
Sunday he began to lose strength, and gradu- 
ally sank into the last long sleep, passing 
away apparently without pain. He retained 
his faculties and was able to recognize the 
different members of his family up to within 
a few hours of his death. His last day on 
earth — June 29, 1874 — closed his eighty- 
sixth year, June 30 being his birthday. 

Mr. John S. Wright left three sons : John 
Harvey Wright, United States Navy; Eben 
Wright, of the firm of which he was the senior 
member; and George Wellman Wright, of 
Duxbury; and two daughters — Mary Eliza- 
beth and Esther Fidelia. John Harvey 
Wright was for many years Acting Surgeon in 
the United States Navy. He subsequently 
left the service and was on the retired list of 
the Medical Board until his death. Upon his 
retirement he became a member of the firm of 
J. S. and E. Wright & Co. 

Mary Elizabeth Wright, the elder daughter, 
mother of the subject of this sketch, married 
Mr. Charles H. Todd, who was for years inti- 
mately connected with leaders of commerce on 
the north Atlantic coast, and who had an ex- 
tensive acquaintance in diplomatic circles in 
this country and Europe. His father sent out 
whalers and merchant vessels to all parts of 
the known world, from Newburyport, Mass. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



539 



Equipped with a fortune Charles II. Todd 
started in business in lioston at tiie age of 
twenty-one as head of a dry-goods and silk 
hiiuse; but his inexperience led to failure, 
and in 1846 he accejited the position of si^ecial 
agent at Washington for the New Iilngland 
merchants in relation to the ]:)ending tariff bill. 

His business kept him in Washington about 
a year, and while there he estaiilished an inti- 
mate personal friendship with Webster, Clay, 
Douglas, and other prominent men of the time 
which lasted actively for years. Returning to 
Boston after the tariff bill jiassed, Mr. Todd 
was engaged for some time in fitting vessels 
for whaling and the South American trade. 
In 1849 he went to California to make arrange- 
ments to send his vessels there ; but the under- 
taking was too expensive for his resources, and 
in a year or two he returned east and became 
a member of the New York firm of which An- 
thony Rleecker was head, making his home in 
New York City. 

In i860 he went abroad as agent for a syndi- 
cate, and procured a grant for a ship canal 
through Denmark from the government of that 
country. In Copenhagen he became intimate 
with Mr. Buchanan, the representative of the 
United States government there. Stopping 
over in London on his way back in the sjiring, 
Mr. Todd was joined by Mr. Buchanan. The 
latter had allowed his salary to run for several 
months, and was afraid the government might 
refuse to pay it, as it was known that he was 
in sympathy with the South. Mr. Todd took 
him In J^aring Brothers, who honored his draft 
for the salary due ; and Mr. Buchanan was so 
grateful for this favor that he pressed social 
attentions on Mr. Todd and introduced him to 
Yancey, Slidell, Mason, and other Confeder- 
ate agents who were in London. The meeting 
with these gentlemen, however, resulted in 
trouble, for Mr. Todd was a strong Unionist 



and sharp words passed between him and Yan- 
cey. Mr. Buchanan interfered, saying that, 
as Mr. Todd was his friend and the meeting 
was supposed to be merely social, he would 
resent any indignity \n\t upon him; and, if 
Yancey wanted to fight, Mr. Buchanan was 
ready, in behalf of his guest, to meet him. No 
duel took place, however, though the gentle- 
men parted in anger. (_)n his return to the 
States Mr. Todd reported the occurrence to 
Secretary Seward, and by Mr. Seward's re- 
quest to President Lincoln. The President 
asked Mr. Todd to remain in Washington, 
and in a few days Mr. Seward sent for him 
and offered to send him to England as the 
secret agent of the government ; but he pro- 
tested that he had no aptitude for detective 
work and must act openly if at all ; so the mat- 
ter was dropped. The Rebellion spoiled the 
plans of the syndicate for the Danish Canal; 
and Mr. Todd resided in New York until 
1S69. In that year and the year following he 
had financial charge of the construction of the 
water works for the city of Portland, ]\Ie. 
The ensuing seven years he spent in travel 
with his wife. Their return voyage, in 1877, 
was his forty-fourth trans-Atlantic trip. Mr. 
Todd, who had a leaning toward liberalism, 
was especially fond of theological research, 
and left many writings to suijport his views, 
including a synopsis of the entire Bible, which 
he compiled. He died in Nyack, N.J., his 
place of residence for about a year, in Febru- 
ary, 1885, aged seventy-three. 

William J. Wright was born in Brooklyn, 
N. Y., November 11, 1846, and was baptized 
on the United States sloop "Brandywine, " 
on which his parents were passengers, <•// tv/tfe 
for San Francisco. In that city he spent the 
first seven years of his life. In his fifteenth 
year he went to France, and, entering the In- 
stitut de France at Asnieres, a military 



54° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



school in the suburhs of Paris, took a three 
years' course of training, and was subsequently 
graduated. Returning to America, December 
25, i860, he was received as a cadet in the 
Highland Military Academy at Worcester, 
Mass. Here he took a four years' course, and 
attained the rank of First Lieutenant; also of 
Acting Adjutant, drilling the cadets and 
having entire charge in the absence of Captain 
Baxter. In the meanwhile, in 1863, while at 
this institution, he enlisted as a private in 
Company G, Forty second Regiment, Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry, under General 
Burrell for a three months' term of service, 
and was with the army, campaigning in the 
Shenandoah Valley under General Auger, tak- 
ing part in a number of skirmishes and 
engagements. 

Receiving an honorable discharge he re- 
turned to Massachusetts and for a number of 
years was associated with the Boston house of 
J. S. & E. Wright, being subsequently con- 
nected with their New York branch. For 
some time previous to his going to New York, 
Mr. Wright had spent much of his leisure time 
in Du.xbury, and in 1868 he became a perma- 
nent resident of this town. He has long been 
actively identified with the town government 
and institutions, and his influence and knowl- 
edge of the world have had a marked effect on 
the progress of the place. He is a member of 
the Duxbury Democratic Committee, of which 
he was Chairman for a number of years; in 
1890 and 1 891 he represented in the State 
legislature what was the twelfth and is now 
the second district, serving on the Committee 
on Street Railways. He has always been 
influential in legislation, affecting State 
highways, and is Chairman of the board of 
that name in Duxbury. He is ex-President 
of Marshfield P^air, having served as President 
several years. He is a Trustee of Partridge 



Academy, of Duxbury; has been a member of 
the Board of Trustees of the Duxbury Free 
Library ever since the founding of that insti- 
tution ; and as a Justice of the Peace he has 
been for a great many years identified with 
important legal transactions. 

Mr. Wright is a member of William Wads- 
worth Post, No. 165, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, of Duxbury, and of the Duxbury Yacht 
Club. 'Among the Boston social organizations 
with which he is connected are the Somerset 
Club, headquarters on Beacon Street; the Al- 
gonquin Club, headquarters on Commonwealth 
Avenue; and the Plaston Yacht Club. He is 
also a member of the far-famed Country Club 
of Brookline; of the Kingston Yacht Club; 
and of the Old Colony Club, of Plymouth. 




'a ^ARTIN HATCH, a prosperous box- 
manufacturer of Pembroke, was 
born here on August 29, 1833, 
son of Deacon Isaac and Lavina (Allen) Hatch. 
This highly respected family is of Plnglish ex- 
traction. William, the earliest known ances- 
tor in America, was a native of Sandwich, 
Kent County, England. He came to this 
country in 1633, and the records show that the 
same year he became a freeman of the incorpo- 
rated town of Plymouth. He went back to 
England, not very long after, and in March, 
1635, returned to Massachusetts with his wife 
and five children, and settled in Scituate. 
His son William married Abigail, daughter of 
John Hewes, a Welshman, who formerly lived 
in Plymouth, but who in 1632 settled in 
Scituate. 

Walter Hatch, another son of the first Will- 
iam, and the next in ancestral line now being 
traced, was born in England about 1625. He 
was a ship-builder in Scituate, having a ship- 
yard located a mile below Union Bridge; and 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



54' 



he also had an interest in an iron mine. Mis 
wife, whose niaiilcn name was Miizabctli llol- 
brook, was a daughter of Thomas Holbrooi<, a 
resident of Weymouth, Mass. Their son 
Samuel, born December 22, 1653, was a ship- 
wright and farmer. He married, and became 
the father of nine children. Mis son Isaac, 
born in Scituate, December 20, 1687, the 
great-great-grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, was a farmer, who spent his last days 
in this town. He was married three times. 
By his first wife, Lydia Clift, he had a son 
Isaac, second, born in 1717. Isaac, second, 
was the father of Isaac, third, and grandfather 
of Isaac, fourth, born in 1764, who was a 
farmer and a ship -builder, owning a shipyard 
on the North River in Pembroke, where he 
was a lifelong resident. Isaac Match, fourth, 
married Sarah Match, of this town, and they 
both lived to be octogenarians. They had six 
children. 

Isaac Hatch, fourth, born in 1796, son of 
Isaac, third, and Sarah Hatch, acquired his 
elementary education in the district school, 
and later added to his stock of knowledge b)' 
attending Bridgewater Academy. When he 
was seventeen years of age, his father pur- 
chased for him a tract of land in Matchville 
or Mast Pembroke. Througii tliis land passed 
a steadily flowing stream, which they damned 
and utilized to run a woollen-mill that they 
had erected. They then engaged in the manu- 
facture of satinet; but the enterprise not prov- 
ing to be a financial success, it was abaniK)ned 
a few \ears thereafter. Having previously 
built a saw-mill. Deacon Hatch purchased 
standing lumber, wliich lie manufactured in 
large quantities. He subsequently became 
interested in the manufacture of bo.xes, and 
continued engaged in the management thereof 
througii the rest of his life, building up a 
lucrative trade. 



He married Lavina, a daughter of Hezekiah 
Allen, and niece of the Rev. Morrill Allen. 
She was a native of Bowdoinham, Me. By 
this marriage there were seven children, but 
four of whom came to maturity: George l'". ; 
Isaac, fifth of the name in direct line; Martin; 
and Lavina. Isaac and Lavina reside in Bos- 
ton. The father died at the age of fifty-four, 
but the mother lived to be eighty-three, sur- 
viving her husband twenty-nine years. 

George F. Hatch was a public-spirited and 
progressive man, who took much interest in 
the growth and welfare of the town of Pem- 
broke while he retained his residence here. 
Eventually he removed to Ouincy, Mass., 
where he died December 29, 1S76, aged forty- 
nine years and nine months. 

IMartin Hatch, after attending the public 
schools of his native town, took a supplement- 
ary course of instruction at a private school in 
Kingston. He then assisted his father in the 
work of the mill. When Mr. Isaac Hatch 
died, Martin and his brother George succeeded 
to the management of the concern, carrying on 
the box factory with excellent results for a 
period of about twenty-five years, or until the 
ill health of both compelled their retirement 
from active business. Mr. Hatch has since 
given his time to the care of his private in- 
terests. He owns and occupies the old home- 
stead, which suggests many tender memories. 
In politics he affiliates with the Republican 
party. In his religious outlook he is a man 
of liberal and progressive ideas. 




lLlZAHi;i'lI A. KINCMAX, for many 
years a prominent and successful 
teacher in the public schools of 
Brockton, is the daughter of the late Albert 
Kingman of this city and his wife Lavina 
Alden. She was born October 31, 1841, in 



542 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



North Bridgewater, now Brockton, and has 
spent the greater part of her life in her native 
place, closely identified with its social and 
intellectual interests. Miss Kingman has a 
worthy ancestry, being descended on her 
mother's side from Richard Williams (who has 
been called the father of Taunton, and who 
was a cousin of Oliver Cromwell), also from 
John and Priscilla Alden ; and on her father's 
side from Henry Kingman, who settled in 
Weymouth in 1630. 

Miss Kingman received her early education 
in the public schools of the town, and later, 
wishing to prepare herself for teaching, took 
a training course in the Bridgewater Normal 
School. She entered that institution while 
Marshall Conant was at its head, and was 
graduated in 1861 under Albert G. Boyden, 
A.M., the present principal. Miss Kingman 
gained a reputation for herself among both 
pupils and teachers as a thorough student and 
a young woman of fine abilities. She was 
valedictorian of her class, and a successful 
future in the line of her chosen profession was 
predicted for her. Accepting an offer of a 
school in Easton, she taught there for a year, 
fully justifying the expectations of her friends. 
Leaving Easton she went to Stoughton for a 
year, and after that time, up to 1893, she 
taught in Brockton. Many of her former 
pupils, now men and women, and engaged in 
various callings, remember with gratitude and 
appreciation the untiring patience and kindly 
help with which she lured them along the 
rugged and devious paths of learning. 

In 1893 Miss Kingman decided to give up 
teaching and to devote her time to her favorite 
study of history and to the development of 
plans for benevolent work. She has long been 
deeply interested in the work of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union, and is an ardent 
advocate of the principles of that organization. 



In 1S94 she was appointed, by the Massachu- 
setts Women's Christian Temperance Union, 
State Superintendent of Sunday-school work, 
a position which she still occupies. She has 
also been leader of the Loyal Temjierance 
Legion, a children's organization in Brockton, 
since 1884. She has frequently addressed 
conventions on Sunday-school as well as on 
temperance work. She is connected with the 
Porter Congregational Church, and is Superin- 
tendent of the primary department of the Sun- 
day-school. Miss Kingman is a pleasing 
writer, and has often been called upon in fam- 
ily gatherings and festivities to express in 
verse the sentiment of the occasion, four 
golden weddings and many anniversaries hav- 
ing thus tested her poetic ability. 



LISHA ROWLAND JOSLYN, founder 
of the Joslyn Express Company, was 
born in that part of Pembroke, Plym- 
outh County, Mass., included in the town of 
Hanson, January 24, iSii, and was the son of 
Eleazer and Alice (Howland) Joslyn. He 
was educated in the public schools of Hanson, 
and at an early age began to work in a cotton 
factory in that town, and later in Marshfield. 
Here he made a careful study of the machin- 
ery, and became familiar with all the details 
of the business, so that at the age of twenty 
he was called upon to take a position as fore- 
man of a mill in Pembroke. Later he re- 
moved to Lowell, where he spent about three 
years. He was then waited upon by gentle- 
men from Newburyport, who solicited him to 
go to that place to equip and manage a new 
mill. He accepted the offer, and remained in 
Newburyport for two years, when ill-health 
prompted him to resign, and he returned to 
Hanson. 

He afterward built the branch of the Old 




SYLVANUS W. HALL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



545 



Cdliiny ]\ailioacl extending from Stoughton tn 
North Easton. Me also put in the piiblie 
water-works at Plymouth. I""or some years 
following this he ke]it a market in North 
Britlgewater, now Urockton. In i860 he was 
asked by the President of the Old Colony Rail- 
road to open an express route between Boston 
and North Bridgewater, and was offered the 
exclusive right of the railroad fur that pur[iose. 
After carefully deliberating the matter, he 
concluded to start the business, which later 
became so successful. P'or many years Mr. 
Joslyn gave his direct supervision to the work, 
or until personal considerations made it desir- 
able for him to retire and devote himself to his 
private interests, which he liid until his death 
in October, 1892. 

Mr. Joslyn was twice niarrietl. By his first 
wife, Hannah, daughter of Daniel Sawin, 
M.D., of East Bridgewater, he had three chil- 
dren — Cornelia, Elmer, and Alice. In 1857 
he married Mrs. Plllen Gurney, daughter of 
Albert Kingman. One son, Albert Kingman 
Joslyn, survives him. 

Mr. Joslyn was a member of the Porter Con- 
gregational Church and a strong advocate of 
temperance. In politics he was a Re[niblican, 
and filled various offices. He was a fine speci- 
men of a self-made man, and his life is an ex- 
ample of what may be accomplished by untir- 
ing activity and closo attention to business. 
During his life he earned a reputation for 
ability and business integrity that any man 
might envy. 




;VLVANUS W. HALL, Po.stmaster 
at Marion, Plymouth County, 
Mass., and a worthy representative 
citizen of this town, was born at Rochester, 
now Marion, November 6, 1832. His father, 
Daniel Hall, was a native of Duxbury, this 
county. For thirty years of his active life he 



served as Deputy Sheriff of Plymouth County, 
and a part of that time also for Bristol and 
liarnstable Counties, being widely and favor- 
ably known throughout the south-eastern part 
of Ma.ssachusetts as a man of genuine worth 
and ability. The maiden name of his wife 
was Hannah King. They had five children, 
namely: Charles D. ; Sylvanus \V. ; Abner, 
deceased; Julia A. ; and Jennison C. 

.Sylvanus \V. , the second son, was born and 
reared on a farm. He stayed at home with his 
[larents until fourteen years of age, when he 
began life on his own account, going to the 
neighboring town of Mattapoisett, where he 
was employed as a clerk for a year. The fol- 
lowing two years he was similarly engaged at 
Providence, R.I. The next three years he 
spent in New Bedford. He was then assistant 
at the Marion Railway Station a year, and 
afterward station agent at Fairhaven, Bristol 
County, three years. Returning to Marion 
in 1S61, Mr. Hall was appointed to the charge 
of the post-office here, which position he ably 
filled, discharging its duties with promptitude 
and efficiency for thirty-five years, or until his 
resignation, which took effect on April i, 
1896. He was succeeded by his son-inlaw, 
Frank M. Trijip, the present Postmaster. 

Mr. Hall was married on November 6, 1859, 
to Miss Annie M., daughter of Dr. \V. N. 
Fllis, who was for many years a popular physi- 
cian of Marion. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have four 
children, namely: Lucy M., Assistant Post- 
master at Marion; Hannah, wife of Richard 
A. Cowing; IMattie C, wife of Captain Will- 
iam Kelley; and Elizabeth B. S. , wife of 
b'rank M. Tripp. 

Politically, Mr. Hall is a stanch adherent 
of the Republican party. He served as Town 
Treasurer and Collector sixteen consecutive 
years, and for three years was Collector of the 
Port of Marion. He belongs to the Masonic 



546 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



order, being an active member of Pythagorean 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of which he was 
Secretary ten years. Mr. Hall is a member 
of the Congregational church. 




Elizabeth (Swift) 
as from Hyannis, 



'ARVEY CROCKER, an energetic and 
enterprising business man of Plym- 
outh County, engaged in harness- 
making and saddlery at Wareham, is a native 
of this town, born September ii, 1847, being 
7^ one of a family of six sons and five daughters 
born to Walton N. and 
Crocker. Mis father -w 
Barnstable County, and his mother a native of 
Wareham. 7 1 

Harvey Crocker attended the public schools 
until sixteen years of age, | when, his patriotic 
ardor being thoroughly arolised, he enlisted in 
defence of the Union, joining the I'ourth 
Massachusetts Cavalry Janiiary 20, 1864, and 
being mustered into service at Readville. 
With his comrades in arms he went first to 
Port Royal, thence shortljf after to Virginia 
to join General Butler's forpes, from that time 
till after the close of the war being detailed 
for special duty until his discharge, which he 
received December 14, 18165. On returning 
home, Mr. Crocker worked; in his father's har- 
ness shop three years, serving a full appren- 
ticeship to the trade, which he is now follow- 
ing. He ne.xt spent three years in seafaring- 
pursuits, cruising on a whaling vessel two 
years, and one year on a coaster. His father 
having died in the mean! time, Mr. Crocker 
then retired from nautica^ pursuits to assume 
charge of the harness shop ; and he has since 
carried on a prosperous and lucrative business, 
dealing largely in horses and carriages in 



ne. 



addition to his manufactur 

Mr. Crocker was first married on March 19, 
1874, to Sarah Shaw Bimip, of Lakeville, 



Mass. ; and one son, Harvey Shaw Crocker, 
was the fruit of the unicln. His second mar- 
riage, uniting him wit^h Louise Stanwood 
Barnes, took place October 27, 1886. Mr. 
and Mrs. Crocker have three daughters, 
namely: Lucy P'enderson, born August 5, 
1887; Louise Stanwood, born April 14, 1890; 
and Elizabeth Swift, bornlApril 9, 1892. 

In politics he adheres ilosely to the jirin- 
ciples promulgated by the Republican party, in 
which he is an active and intelligent worker. 
Since 1884 he has been a member of the 
Board of Registrar of votehs, and in 1895 he 
represented the Seventh Plymouth District in 
the State legislature. Hcjis identified with 
several local social organizations, being a 
member of Wareham Post No. 208, Grand 
Army of the Republic; o| Social Harmony 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; and of Wankinquoah 
Lodge, No. 119, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Wareham. Mr. Crocker is well 
known in this section of Plymouth County, 
and stands remarkably high in the community 
as an honorable, upright, ' and trustworthy 
citizen. [ 



TT^HARLES H. COLE, a trusted fore- 
I TT^ man in H. M. Kingman's shoe factory 
V»*_^^ of Brockton, was born October 15, 
1835, in Boston, Mass., son of Charles and 
Abigail Griggs (Harvey) Cole. His father, a 
native of Paris, Me., was reared on a farm, 
and attended the common schools in his native 
town. When Charles Cole attained his ma- 
jority he removed from Maine to Dedham, 
Mass., where he worked in a cotton-mill for 
some time, and first made the acquaintance of 
his future wife. Later he came to Boston, 
and followed the trade of carpenter. While 
there, among other buildings, he erected a 
block on Pine Street, and a larger one on 
Shawmut Street, now Shawmut Avenue. He 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



547 



subsequently moved to Campello, where he 
died at the age of seventy-five years. He 
married Abigail Griggs Harvey, of Spring 
Street, West Roxbury, who bore him six chil- 
dren — Susan,' Lucinda, Charles, John Har- 
vey, George William, ami Ilattie. Susan 
married Horace Hakcr, and they reside in 
Jirockton. Lucinda married the Hon. H. A. 
Monk, a heel manufacturer also of this city. 
The mother liveil to be seventy-four years of 
age. 

Charles H. Cole obtained his early educa- 
tion in the old Hrimmer School on Common 
Street, Boston. At the age of ten he removed 
with his parents to Sharon. Here he assisted 
in the cultivation of the farm, of which he 
soon took entire charge. At the age of six- 
teen, however, he learned the carpenter's trade 
with his father, and subseciuentl)' worked at it 
until the fall of 1859. In the mean time he 
had removed to Stoughton, and from there 
came to Brockton, October 17, 1853, to en- 
gage in rebuilding the old South Congrega- 
tional Church, which had been destroyed by 
fire on May 23 of that year. After this he 
was employed throughout the winter season at 
the factory of A. & A. B. Keith at Campello, 
and at his trade in summer until 1859, when 
he abandoned the latter calling, as already in- 
timated. While in the employ of Messrs. 
Keith he learned the business of sole-leather 
cutting, in which industry he was a pioneer, 
and one of the first to adopt new methods. 
During the war he made army shoes, and after- 
ward remained in charge of his department 
until the firm went out of the business seven- 
teen years later. The Keith's establishment 
was the first and largest steam factory in 
Brockton, then North Bridgewater, and the 
firm had the first dies and first pegging and 
stitching machines. When a strike occurred 
in the winter of 1859, Mr. Cole stood by his 



employers. The esteem in which he was held 
by the company is best shown by the fact that, 
while he neither sought promotion nor increase 
of wages, he was advanced with due regard to 
emoluments. 

After Messrs. Keith retired from business, 
Mr. Cole entered the C W. Copeland shoe 
factory as foreman of sofe-leather department, 
which position he held until Mr. Copeland's 
failure in July, 1883. In February, 1884, he 
took a similar position in the factory of H. M. 
Kingman. Later, at the urgent request of 
Mr. Copeland, he returned to assist him for a 
time in cutting sample stock. While so en- 
gaged he had the misfortune to lose a finger, 
after which he re-entered the H. M. Kingman 
factory. During the thirteen years spent here 
he has been foreman of the sole-leather room, 
and is now in addition superintendent of the 
factory. In politics, from his first vote to the 
present time, he has steadily supported the 
Republican party. In the first year that the 
new law went into force he was appointed by 
Mayor Keith a member of the Board of Regis- 
trars for the term of one year. He was after- 
ward reappointed by Mayor Whipple for the 
term of three years, but he resigned after serv- 
ing one year. Mr. Cole was one of the pro- 
moters of the Campello Co-operative Bank, 
which was established in October, 1S77, and 
has been on the Security Comn^ittee since its 
organization, that being the only office he 
would accept. During the Rebellion he 
served as Collector of the money demandetl 
for substitutes in District No. 6, paying the 
amount received into the hands of the Hon. 
H. W. Robinson. In the year 1864 he fur- 
nished a substitute, who entered the marine 
service for four years. 

On February 24, 1856, he was united in 
marriage with Olive A., daughter of Sylvanus 
French. She was born October 16, 1834, 



548 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and has had four children — ^ Mary Abbie, 
Lizzie Augusta, George French, and Lucia E. 
Mary Abbie, who married Henry Newton, of 
Broclvton, died November 20, 1885; Lizzie 
Augusta married Henry Crane, of Bridge- 
water; George French married Lillie Perkins, 
of Norwell, Plymouth County; and Lucia took 
for her life partner Dr. J. F. Allen, of Arling- 
ton. He is a dentist of Campello. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Cole is a member of Brockton 
Lodge, No. 218, Knights of Honor. In re- 
ligion he is a member of the South Congrega- 
tional Church. 



TT^HARLES L. RICE, a prominent cit- 
\\[ izen of Rockland, Mass., was born 
V ^ ^ at Brookfield, Vt., December 31, 
1841, a son of Alphonso and Mary (Cardell) 
Rice. The father was a plain, honest New 
England farmer, who spent the greater part of 
his life in the. "Green Mountain State" in 
tilling the soil, but eventually removed to 
Brooklyn, la., where he died at the age of 
seventy-five years. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary Cardell, was a native of the 
State of New York, born near Lake George, 
On both sides Mr. Rice comes from a long- 
lived stock, several of his paternal ancestors 
having lived to be over ninety years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. Alphonso Rice were the parents of 
nine children, namely: John A., a dry-goods 
merchant of Rockland; Mary, who resides in 
Brooklyn, la. ; Cynthia Louise (deceased) ; 
Lovina, a resident of Rockland; Hannah, who 
resides in Boston; Carrie, now a resident of 
Minneapolis; Charles L. ; George E., who 
lives in Maiden, and is a dry-goods merchant; 
and Eugene M., a resident of Boston, Mass., 
who conducts an extensive dry-goods business 
in Chelsea. 

Charles L. Rice, the seventh child of his 



parents, was brought up on his father's farm, 
on which, after he was twelve years old, he 
worked during the summers, learning the 
routine duties of farm life. His education 
was obtained by attendance during the winters 
at the district school and by a supplementary 
course of study at Barre Academy. Like his 
brothers and sisters, he followed for a time 
the calling of a teacher, being thus engaged 
for three terms. 

He made the farm his home until August, 
1862, when, obeying the voice of patriotism, 
he enlisted as a private soldier in the Tenth 
Regiment of Vermont Volunteer Infantry. 
On October 27, 1863, he was commissioned 
a Captain, being assigned to the command 
of Company A, Seventh Regiment, United 
States Colored Troops. After serving in this 
capacity until March 4, 1864, he was ordered 
to Hilton Head, S.C. , thence to Jacksonville, 
Fla., which latter place he reached about the 
end of the month. Here he was prostrated 
by an attack of rheumatic fever, from which 
he did not recover until October. In the 
mean time his regiment had been transferred 
to Virginia, where he rejoined it after an en- 
forced absence of seven months. After his re- 
turn he was detailed with his company as 
provost guard of Major-general Weitzel's 
headquarters. A few months later he was 
appointed Acting Assistant Inspector-general, 
First Brigade, Second Division, Twenty -fifth 
Army Corps. On May 24 he was ordered to 
Texas, and in the following June was detailed 
Acting Assistant Inspector-general of the 
sub-district of Victoria, and in February, 
1866, detailed with the same rank to the Cen- 
tral District of Texas. On October 13 the 
command was moved east to Baltimore, where 
it was mustered out. Captain Rice being 
brcvetted Major and Lieutenant-Colonel of 
volunteers for services. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



540 



Soon after his return to the North he came 
to Rockland, where, in 1.S67, he went into 
business with his eldest brother, the firm 
being known as J. A. & C. L. Rice. Dealing 
first in dry goods and similar wares, they sub- 
sequently, in 1870, added a furniture depart- 
ment, and were very successful in both lines. 
The combined enterprise at length attained 
such large proportions that in 1872 the 
brothers decided to separate, John A. Rice 
taking the original dry-goods business, and 
Charles L. the furniture trade in its several 
branches. In 1874 he added the department 
of undertaking. Eight years later he estab- 
lished a branch house in South Weymouth; 
and in 1887 lie bought and improved the large 
stores now occupied by him on Park Street. 

On November 7, 1865, Mr. Rice married 
Hattie E. Perry, a native of Worcester, Vt. , 
and daughter of the Rev. David Perry. Her 
father was a minister of the gospel, a very able 
and worthy man, who, after following his 
sacred calling in Worcester and elsewhere, at 
the age of seventy-five accepted a charge at 
Falmouth, Mass., where he died three years 
later. I\Ir. and Mrs. Rice have had seven 
children — Julia P., Clarence E., David Perry, 
Mary L., Cora H., Hattie Adele, and Charles 
L. Julia P. married George W. Wakefield, 
and resides in Minneapolis, Minn. ; Clarence 
E. , who is an able business man, married 
Sadie Tolman, and lives in Rockland. He is 
the superintendent of the Sunday-school of the 
Congregationalist church, where he and his 
wife attend worship. They have one child, 
Louise T., born June 5, 1896. David Perry, 
who has chosen to devote his life to the min- 
istry, is now pursuing his theological studies. 
Mary L. became the wife of Frank A. Shel- 
den, is a resident of Rockland, and is an as- 
sistant teacher in Volkman's Fitting School, 
Boston. Cora H., Hattie Adele, and Charles 



L. , Jr., all live at home, and are pupils in the 
public schools. 

Mr. Rice is a stanch Republican in politics, 
but has hitherto declined to accept office. He 
has always taken a great interest in the de- 
velopment of the town, and more especially in 
anything that would tend to increase its im- 
portance as a business centre. He was one of 
the prime movers in the organization of the 
club, which lias accomplished much in this 
direction. The idea occurred to him ten years 
before, and he went at that time to the neigh- 
boring city of Brockton, where there was an 
organized Board of Trade. After a careful 
e.\amination of their system, rules, and by- 
laws, he returned to his own town with a very 
satisfactory report, which he laid before his 
fellow-citizens, but failed to impress upon 
them the desirability of taking steps to form 
a similar organization. After ten years, 
another and more successful attempt was 
made, resulting in the Rockland Commer- 
cial Club, of which Mr. Rice was chosen 
first President, and remained so for a period of 
three years. 

In religious opinions Mr. Rice is in sym- 
pathy with the Congregational church, of 
which he is an active and useful member. He 
has been for fifteen years Chairman of the 
Board of Trustees of the church, and has con- 
ducted a Sunday-school class for the e.xcep- 
tionallv long period of twenty-five years. 
When the house of worship was destroyed by 
fire, he rendered valuable service in securing 
the erection of another, and was elected to the 
Chairmanship of the Building Committee. 
The result of his efforts in this direction may 
be seen in the new structure, which is an ad- 
mirable specimen of the modern church edi- 
fice, containing, in addition to the auditorium, 
handsome and convenient parlors, and rooms 
for Sunday-school and other purposes. The 



55° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



building was erected and furnished at an ex- 
pense but little short of forty thousand dollars. 
Mr. Rice fills a wide sphere of usefulness, and 
is highly respected by his fellow-citizens as an 
honorable business man, and a whole-souled, 
Christian gentleman. 




ILLIAM T. DAVIS, the accom- 
plished historian of Plymouth, 
Mass., is a native of this ancient 
town, of which he is an influential and honored 
citizen. He comes of long lines of Colonial 
ancestry, numbering among his kinsfolk, near 
and remote, many worthy and distinguished 
names. 

His great -great-grandfather on the paternal 
side, Thomas Davis, of Albany, N.Y., is be- 
lieved to have been a descendant of Robert 
Davis, of Falmouth, Mass. He married, 
about 1720, Catherine Wendell, of Albany, of 
the famous Knickerbocker family, founded by 
Evert Jansen Wendell, from whom both Oliver 
Wendell Holmes and Wendell Phillips 
claimed descent. Thomas Davis removed 
from Albany to North Carolina in or about 

1730. 

Seven years later his son Thomas, who was 
born in 1722, came to Plymouth to be edu- 
cated under the care of Elkanah Morton. In 
1753 he married Mercy, the daughter of Barn- 
abas Hedge, of Plymouth. He was a member 
of the expedition against Louisburg. After 
his return he became interested in navigation, 
and had a large trade with the West Indies, 
Spain, France, and along the shores of the 
Mediterranean Sea, being one of the leading 
ship-owners and prominent business men of 
the busy town of Plymouth. In the year 1782 
one of his vessels, the schooner "Harmony," 
commanded by Nathaniel Carver, laden with 
corn from North Carolina, was overhauled and 



captured by Horatio Nelson, afterward Lord 
Nelson, the celebrated English Admiral; and 
the Captain was held as a prisoner, being 
compelled to pilot the English ship through 
comparatively unknown and intricate passages 
out of the way of the French fleet, which put 
out from Boston for its capture. Once safe 
from the French, Nelson jnit the Captain 
ashore. This incident is related with further 
particulars in Mr. William T. Davis's "His- 
tory of Plymouth." The following is a copy 
of the certificate now in the possession of Mr. 
Davis, given by Nelson to Captain Carver: — 

This is to certify tliat I took the schooner ■• Har- 
mony," Nathaniel Carver, master, belonging to Plym- 
outh, but on account of his good services have given 
him up his vessel again, Horatio Nelso.v. 

Dated on board His Majesty's sliip " Albemarle," 
17th of August, 17S2, in Boston Bay. 

This is the only autograph of Lord Nelson 
in this country, and is valued accordingly. 

Thomas and Mercy (Hedge) Davis became 
the parents of six sons, all of whom were emi- 
nently successful in their varied lines of life- 
work. The eldest, William, the grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1758 
in Plymouth, and died in 1826. Like his 
father, he was a large ship-owner, and en- 
gaged in trade with the West Indies, France, 
Spain, and Holland, He married in 1781, 
Rebecca, the daughter of Nathaniel Morton, a 
descendant of George Morton, who came from 
England in the "Ann" in 1623. 

The next son of Thomas was John, a gradu- 
ate of Harvard College, who was for some 
time Comptroller of the Currency in Washing- 
ton, and for forty years a Judge of the United 
States Court for the District of Massachusetts. 
He was for a long period President of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society. Thomas, 
another son, was the Treasurer of Massachu- 
setts for six years, and was the President of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



55' 



the first insurance comjiany in Boston. He is 
buried in tlie old cemetery on Hoston Common. 

.Samuel, the fourth son, was a noted anti- 
quary, and a member of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, as was also the fifth son, 
Isaac, who was an intimate friend of Daniel 
Webster. Wendell Davis, the sixth son, was 
a graduate of Harvard, and a lawyer by pro- 
fession. He was the father of the late 
George T. Davis, of Greenfield, a well-known 
Congressman. 

William and Rebecca (Morton) Davis were 
the parents of four children: William, the 
father of William T., born at Plymouth in 
1783; Nathaniel, a lawyer, and a graduate of 
Harvartl College, who practised for several 
years in his native town of Plymouth, was 
elected to the Massachusetts Senate, was a 
member of the Executive Council, President 
of the Pilgrim Society, and a member of the 
Massachusetts Historical Society; Thomas, a 
bachelor, who, although an invalid, conducted 
a successful business for several years, living 
in Hoston, where he was a Director of several 
insurance companies and financial institu- 
tions; and Elizabeth, who, after the death of 
her first husband, Alexander Bliss, a law 
partner of Daniel Webster, married the emi- 
nent historian, George Bancroft. 

William Davis, the eldest son of William 
and Rebecca, was engaged in business with 
his father for many years. He was married 
in 1807 to Joanna, the daughter of Captain 
Gideon White, of Shelburne, N.S. , who, 
being a stanch royalist, served during the 
Revolution as an officer in the British army 
in Jamaica. He was a descendant of Pere- 
grine White, the first child born of English 
parents in New England. After the war Cap- 
tain White settled in Shelburne, where he re- 
mained for the rest of his life. 

Mr. William Davis died in 1824, leaving 



five children — Rebecca Morton, who first 
married I-lbmiezer Grosvenor Parker, and sub- 
sequently George S. Tolnian, of Boston ; Han- 
nah White, who married Andrew L. Russell, 
of Plymouth; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; 
Charles Gideon Davis, a Judge of the District 
Court, for further particulars of whom see the 
sketch of his life; and William T., of whom 
this is a slight biography. 

William T. Davis was born at Plymouth, 
March 3, 1822. He was fitted for college at 
the Plymouth High School, and was graduated 
from Harvard in 1842. Then he studied med- 
icine for a time at the University of Penn- 
sylvania, and subsequently spent a year in 
Europe. After his return he studied law, 
first in the oflfice of his brother Charles, who 
was then in Boston, and finally at the Harvard 
Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 
Boston, November 9, 1849. He opened a law 
office in the same city, and remained there 
practising until 1853, when he went to Plym- 
outh and engaged in business. 

He was a member of the Board of Select- 
men for seventeen years, and has been on the 
same Board at various times since then, hav- 
ing been the Chairman of the Board for many 
years. He was a member of the School Com- 
mittee for six years, and President of the 
Plymouth National Bank for a period of 
twenty. Moreover, he was President of the 
Plymouth Gas Company, President and Vice- 
President of the Pilgrim Society, and is still 
a Trustee of the same organization. Added 
to that he was State Senator in 1858 and 1859. 
In 1872 he was a Presidential Elector for the 
Republican party, and in 1876 a delegate to 
the Republican National Convention at Cincin- 
nati. In 189s he was appointed Chairman of 
the Old Colony Commission. He was Chair- 
man of the First Parish Unitarian Committee 
for fifteen vears. 



552 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Davis has been engaged in literary 
work for a number of years, and lias published 
several volumes, among which are: "The His- 
tory of Plymouth," "Ancient Landmarks of 
Plymouth," "A History of Newburyport, 
Mass.," "Historical sketches of some Massa- 
chusetts Towns (twenty-five)," and "History 
of the Bench and Bar of Massachusetts." Mr. 
Davis also edited the "Plymouth Town Rec- 
ords " in two volumes, and is now engaged in 
editing a work entitled "A History of the New 
England States," which is to be written by 
a corps of able writers, and is to make its ap- 
pearance within a year. Mr. Davis has deliv- 
ered addresses on many different public occa- 
sions, and a great number of lectures on his- 
torical subjects, being, it is needless to say, 
e.xtremely well qualified for this sort of- intel- 
lectual work. 

On the 19th of November, 1849, he was 
married to Miss Abby Burr, daughter of 
Thomas and Lydia CofBn (Goodwin) Hedge, 
of Plymouth. Mrs. Davis died August 12, 
1894. His children are: Abby Warren, born 
in 1854, who married Ale.xander Jackson, of 
Boston; Howland, born in 1855, now a New 
York banker, who married in 1885, Anna, 
daughter of William Shippen, of New York; 
Katharine Wendell, born in 1859, who resides 
at home; and Alice Whitworth, born in 1864, 
who married Dr. Henry R. Hitchcock, of Hyde 
Park, Mass. 

< ^ a^t 

JLIJAH AMES is one of the oldest resi- 
dents of Marshfield, and his life has 
been such as to win and hold the 
respect of all who know him. He was born in 
this town, July 9, 1816, the son of Elijah and 
Abigail (Ford) Ames. His family is an old 
and honored one, including among its mem- 
bers, the late e.x-Governor Ames of Massa- 
chusetts. 




Elijah Ames, Sr. , was born in North 
Bridgewater (now Brockton), and settled in 
Marshfield when a young man. Endowed with 
marked character and ability, he took a promi- 
nent part in public affairs, affiliating with the 
Republican party in the latter part of his life, 
and served as Selectman of Marshfield and as 
Representative to the State legislature. His 
death occurred in Marshfield in 1866. His 
wife, Abigail, was a native of this town. One 
of their children besides Elijah is living — 
Samuel A., in Riverside, Cal. 

Elijah Ames was educated in public and 
private schools in his native town. In his 
seventeenth year he entered on an apprentice- 
ship to a carpenter and joiner in Jioston, and 
served a little over four years. Returning 
then to Marshfield he was engaged for a series 
of years in contracting and building, and for a 
short time in the manufacture of wooden ware. 
The mill in which this industry was carried on 
was destroyed by fire, and he did not attempt 
to resume business. About forty years ago 
he settled on his present farm at Rexham 
Terrace, Marshfield, a generous estate of some 
two hundred acres. In the long term of his 
residence in Marshfield Mr. Ames has wit- 
nessed many radical changes here, especially 
along the water front; and he still takes a 
deep interest in the progress of his native 
place. 

Deacon Ames, as he is familiarly called, 
was married November 26, 1840, to Sarah A. 
Thomas, who was born on the farm at Rexham 
Terrace, where she is now living. Her par- 
ents, Waterman and Sarah D. (Thomas) 
Thomas, were natives of Marshfield. Her 
mother was the daughter of a John Thomas, 
and was a descendant, it is said, of William 
Thomas, a gentleman of Welsh extraction who 
was in Plymouth in 1636, and a few years later 
settled in Marshfield. His grand-daughter, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



553 



Mary Thomas, married Simon Kay, of IMock 
Island. Briggs Thomas, father of Waterman 
Thomas and paternal grandfather of Mrs. 
Ames, was a Major in the Continental army. 
He was a son of Colonel Anthony and Abigail 
(Alden) Thomas. Colonel Anthony Thomas, 
born in 1719, was son of John and Lydia 
(Waterman) Thomas, and grandson of Samuel 
Thomas, whose father, John Thomas, first, 
came over in the "Hopewell " in 1635. Abi- 
gail Alden, wife of Colonel Anthony Thomas, 
was a great-grand-daughter of John Alden, the 
successful rival of Miles Standish. Ten chil- 
dren have been given by Providence to Mr. 
and Mrs. Ames: Sarah D. T. , wife of Dr. 
Azel Ames, of Chelsea, Mass. ; Mary A., wife 
of Edward Ames, of Dorchester; Elijah, in 
Amesville, Mont. ; William, in the same 
place; Lucy T. and Ray T. , with their par- 
ents; and John T. , George W. , Waterman T. , 
and Elizabetii F. , all deceased. Deacon 
Ames in his younger days took an active inter- 
est in local politics, but is now content to 
leave these matters to men of fewer years. He 
and his wife are highly esteemed members of 
the Congregational church, in which he has 
held the office of Deacon for nearly half a 
century. 

JllLANDER COHH, a well-known 
merchant of Kingston, was born in 
this town, January 23, 1818, son of 
Charles and Polly (Bradford) Cobb. Mr. 
Cobb comes of a sturdy race. His grand- 
father, Seth Cobb, was a descendant of an 
early settler of Plymouth County; and one of 
his ancestors, Ebenezer Cobb, is said to have 
attained the age of one hundred and eight 
years. Charles Cobb, father of Philander, was 
a native and lifelong resident of Kingston. 
He followed the trade of a shoemaker in con- 
nection with farming; and he died in 1830. 




His wife, I'olly Bradford, who was a descend- 
ant of Governor Ikadford, became the mother 
of several children, of whom Philander, the 
subject of this sketch, is the tml)' survivor. 

Philander Cobb was educated in his native 
town of Kingston. At the age of sixteen he 
began to follow the sea, and later became mas- 
ter of a schooner. He was engaged for ten 
years in the coasting and foreign trade, and 
transported the rails used in the construction 
of the railway from Plymouth to Kingston. 
In 1845 he began his career as merchant at his 
present location in Kingston, opening his 
store upon the day that the first train on the 
Old Colony Railroad was run through; and 
for over fifty years he has continued to con- 
duct business without interruption. He 
makes a .specialty of groceries, but handles dry 
goods to some extent, and also carries a gen- 
eral assortment of miscellaneous articles likely 
to be called for in a first-class country store. 
In politics he is a Democrat, and has taken a 
prominent part in public affairs. He served 
eighteen years upon the School Board ; and he 
was a member of the Board of Selectmen, 
Assessor, and Road Commissioner for several 
years. In 1878 he was a member of the 
House of Representatives, in which he served 
upon the Land and Harbor Committee. He 
was nominated by his party for the State 
Senate, but was defeated by his opponent after 
a very close contest. He was appointed Col- 
lector of Customs at the Port of Plymouth by 
President Cleveland, during the latter's first 
administration, and served in that capacity 
during a portion of President Harrison's ad- 
ministration; and the faithful and competent 
manner in which he performed his official 
duties placed him high in public esteem. Mr. 
Cobb wedded Marcia R. Otis, daughter of 
Charles T. Otis, of Boston. He is a member 
of the Masonic Lodge in Plymouth. 



554 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



""TiLISIIA W. MALL, late a retired mer- 
Jpl eliant of Marshfield Hills, and a repre- 
sentative progressive citizen, de- 
parted this life a few weeks since, February 
15, 1897, at his winter home, 259 Beacon 
Street, Boston. Mr. Hall was a son of 
Harvey and Charlotte (Tilden) Hall, natives 
of Marshfield, and was born in this town, 
February 10, 1828. His paternal grandfather, 
Danforth Hall, was a son of Luke Hall, who 
was a Loyalist in Revolutionary times, as were 
many of the peoi:)le of Marshfield in those 
days. He went to Canada, leaving his family 
here, and returned after the war was over. 

Danforth Hall was one of the first mer- 
chants of Marshfield Hills (then East Marsh- 
field), and was a very successful business man. 
Harvey Hall was a ship carpenter. He was a 
lifelong resident of this town, and died here in 
December, 1S91. His wife, Charlotte Tilden 
Hall, was a member of an old Colonial family, 
the Tildens having originally settled on the 
North River in Marshfield and Scituate. 
Elder Nathaniel Tilden, from Kent, England, 
came to Scituate before 1628, as we learn 
from Deane's History. Elisha Tilden, Mrs. 
Hall's father, was a house carpenter by trade, 
and was prominent in East Marshfield as a 
contractor and builder, erecting a number of 
churches and public buildings. Of the six 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Hall, five 
arc living: George H., in Plymouth County; 
Joseph O., in the town of Plymouth; Char- 
lotte A., who married C. J. F. Sherman, of 
Boston (deceased); Elizabeth C, who married 
James O. Hood, of Geneseo, 111. (deceased) ; 
and Sarah B. , who married James Burbank, of 
Taunton (deceased). 

Elisha W. Hall was well educated, having 
attended public and private schools in East 
Marshfield, evening schools in Boston, and in 
addition taken a special private course of 



study. His business experience was gained 
early; for at the age of fifteen he entered the 
employ of Mr. Elijah Stearns, a merchant in 
Boston. He was engaged as clerk in Boston 
seven years, and then returned to Marshfield 
Hills, or East Marshfield, and entered the 
store that was formerly his grandfather's, but 
which the latter had sold a few years previ- 
ously. He there managed a successful busi- 
ness until 1895, when he retired. Mr. Hall 
established a reputation as a wise and con- 
servative business man, and was Chairman of 
the Railroad Sinking Fund Commission from 
the time of its establishment. 

On October 29, 1854, he was united in mar- 
riage with Sarah, daughter of George H. 
Weatherbee. Si.x children blessed their 
union, namely: Henrietta; VVinthrop T., who 
has succeeded his father as manager of the 
mercantile business; Flora A.; Sarah B. ; 
and two who have passed away. 

Mr. Hall was Chairman of the Republican 
Town Committee of Marshfield for a great 
many years. Prior to the establishment of the 
Republican party he voted with the Whigs; 
and he was Postmaster of East Marshfield for 
some time under Whig administration. He 
was one of the prime movers in establishing 
the P]ast Marshfield I-'ublic Library, and at the 
time of his death was a Trustee of that insti- 
tution. He was appointed a Trustee of the 
Ventress Library Fund, and was so largely in- 
strumental in the furnishing of the building 
and the collection of books that the whole 
may be said to be a monument to his ener- 
getic, prompt, and wise administration. 

As a Free Mason, he was affiliated with 
Corner .Stone Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Du.v- 
bury. He was a prominent and liberal mem- 
ber of the Unitarian church of Marshfield, and 
was for years on the Standing Committee. 
The handsome residence at Marshfield Hills, 




ELISHA W. HALL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



557 



so loni;- tlio Iirtine of Mr. Hall aiul liis family, 
commands an enchanting view of sea and 
shore, and is one of the finest and most attrac- 
tive places in this beautiful village. 



/ST.: 



l-ORGM ]•". WELCH, proprietor of 
\^^ I the leading department store in 
Scituate, was born in this town. May 
30, 1859. He is a son of I-'. Parker and Mary 
L. (Collier) Welch. His paternal grandpar- 
ents were Michael and Sarah (Brown) Welch, 
the former a native of Ireland, the latter of 
Scituate, Mass. E. Parker Welch is a native 
and lifelong resident of Scituate. He ha^ 
been for years extensively engaged in general 
farming, owning one of the largest farms in 
Scituate. In 1879 he started in the mercan- 
tile business with his son George ¥., under 
the firm name of E. P. Welch & .Son. In 
1891 he sold his interest to his son and retired. 
His wife, who was born in Scituate, died in 
this town in 1895. The following children 
were born to them: Charles P., George F. , 
William Henr\-, Mary ICmerson, Minnie Lin- 
coln, and S. Edith. 

George E. Welch was reared on his father's 
farm and educated in the public schools of 
.Scituate and Hingham. He has been engaged 
in trade since 1879, when he was the junior 
partner of the firm, and since 1891 has been 
sole [n-oiirictor of the business. Started on a 
small scale, the enterprise has been developed 
year by year until now it is one of the most 
extensive and prosperous in Plymouth County. 
The main store building is a three-story struct- 
ure fifty-five by eighty-five feet in dimension. 
On the first floor are all kinds of hardware, 
tin, and wooden ware, agricultural imple- 
ments, stoves and furnaces, paints, oils, etc. ; 
on the second floor furniture and fishermen's 
supplies; and on the third flour furniture and 



miscellaneous articles. Mr. Welch also deals 
in coal, lumber, hay, straw, and wood and 
builders' and masons' sujjplies of all kinds, 
luiergetic and enterprising, he is still enlarg- 
ing the scope of his business, recognizing no 
limit to his ojjerations. He gives employment 
at present to si.xteen persons. 

Mr. Welch was married in October, 1882, 
to Hattie M. Brown, of Scituate, and has two 
daughters — Marion C. and Edith M. Politi- 
cally, he favors the Republican party. He 
is a Mason in good standing, belonging to 
Satuit Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Scituate. 
He is highly respected in his native town, 
where his enterprise and ability are fully rec- 
ognized. 




^VA;/ ALTER E. DAMON, a civil engi- 
^•^\l neer of Hanson, Plymouth County, 
Mass., was born in Boston, Novem- 
ber 22, i860, son of Elijah and Phoebe (Besse) 
Damon. His great-grandfather was a native 
of the town of Pembroke, now Hanson, where 
he followed farming, and was one of the most 
prominent men of his locality. He married 
Deborah Soper, of Pembroke, Mass., and they 
had four children. Elijah, the eUlest son, 
was born in Pembroke in April, 1797. He 
attended school until he was si.xteen, and then 
engaged in farming. He subsequently became 
[Mdminent in town affairs, serving as Select- 
man, besides representing his district in 
the legislature. He married Emily Josslyn, 
daughter of Isaac Josslyn of Pembroke, and by 
her had five children — Emily, Elijah, Will- 
iam, Angeline, and George. 

I'll i jab Damon, father of Walter E. , was 
born in Hanson, November 3, 1S29. He was 
educated in the public schools, and became a 
manufacturer, carrying on a successful busi- 
ness in Boston and other large cities until 
1875. Then returning home he engaged in 



558 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



farming. He took an active interest in town 
affairs, and officiated as Selectman for one 
year. On November 19, 1859, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Phoebe Besse, daughter 
of Captain Ansel Besse, of Wareham, by 
whom he had five children — Walter E., 
Emily, Lilla, Annie, and Harry. 

Walter E. Damon received his early educa- 
tion in Cleveland, Ohio, going from there to 
the Adams Academy of Quincy. On June 
27, 1883, he was graduated from Harvard Col- 
lege. In politics he is independent. In 1894 
he was elected Selectman, and has served for 
three years. He was also one of the principal 
promoters of the Hanson Town Library. The 
maiden name of his wife, to whom he was 
married on December 24, 1884, was Ada M. 
Beal. She is a daughter of George Beal, of 
Pembroke. 




lAPTAIN FREDERICK STANLEY, 
of Scituate, Keeper of the United 
States Life-saving Station at Fourth 
Cliff, is well known on the South Shore, being 
one of the oldest members, in point of service, 
of the noble corps of life-savers in the employ 
of the government. He was born in Boston, 
Mass., January 27, 1845, and is of Irish 
extraction. He attended the Boston public 
schools until twelve years of age, and then 
went to sea as a cabin boy, in course of time 
becoming an able seaman. He followed the 
sea until he was twenty-three years of age, 
circumnavigating the globe more than once, 
doubling Cape Horn and the Cape of Good 
Hope, and visiting the principal maritime 
countries of the globe. The harbors of Lon- 
don, Liverpool, Havre, Cronstadt, Calcutta, 
Australia, New Zealand, and the Brazilian 
ports became almost as familiar to him as old 
Massachusetts Bay, and before he was twenty- 
five years old he was an all-round citizen of 



the world. Retiring finally from the sea, he 
engaged in fishing and gathering sea moss at 
Scituate. In January, 1880, he was appointed 
a surfman at the I'ourth Cliff Life-saving Sta- 
tion, and on October i following he was given 
charge of the station. Captain Stanley is a 
brave and active man, well fitted for his 
responsible position. He resides at Third 
Cliff, where he erected a home in 1873. 

On September 16, 1868, he- was united in 
marriage with Miss Julia Flynn, a native of 
Ireland, and five children have blessed their 
union — William S., Mary A., Ellen F., 
Thomas P., and Margaret. In politics Cap- 
tain Stanley is independent. He is a public 
spirited citizen, actively interested in the wel- 
fare and progress of Scituate. 



NOS M. STODDARD, of the Boston 
Ice Company, has a fine farm of two 
hundred acres in Marshfield, and is 
regarded as one of the permanent and valuable 
citizens of the town. He was born in Led- 
yard, Conn., June 26, 1824, a son of Ebenezer 
and Lydia (Williams) Stoddard. His grand- 
father, James Stoddard, was a native and life- 
long resident of Ledyard, which in his time 
was known as Groton. Ebenezer Stoddaid 
resided in Ledyard, where he was engaged in 
general farming and milling. He and his wife 
Lydia were the parents of seven children, five 
girls and two boys: Fannie; Ephraim ; Julia; 
Clarissa; Charity; Enos M., the subject of 
this sketch ; and Susan. 

linos M. Stoddard was reared on a farm in 
Ledyard, and educated in the common schools. 
In 1847 he went to Boston, and since 1848 
he has been interested in the ice business in 
that city and vicinity. In 1851 he started a 
business of his own in Boston, some years 
later forming a partnership with Phineas 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



559 



Smith iincicr the firm n;ime of E. 'SI. Stod- 
dard & Co. Their business prospered, and 
tlicy had so large a trade that they ranked 
among the i)rominent financial concerns of the 
city. The firm was eventually merged inti) 
the Boston Ice Company, whose teams now are 
seen daily in all parts of the "Hub" and in 
the suburbs. Mr. Stoddard is a self-made man, 
gifted with tlie will power and the sagacious 
judgment necessary to success in life. In 
1869 he purchased the farm in Marshfield on 
which he now makes his home; and, though 
his fortune was made long ago, he finds pleas- 
ure and profit in raising farm produce. He 
was married in 1868 to Carrie Gove, of Haver- 
hill, Mass., and has two sons living — ^ Charles 
D. and Enos. 



"lp)| G. DICK, proprietor of the Lincoln 
1^1 Mill at North Scituate, was born in 
JL^* v ^^ Denmark, March 6, 1852, son of 
Hans C. and Louise Dick. Mr. Dick was 
reared and educated in his native country, and 
at the age of nineteen he emigrated to the 
United States. His first summer in America 
was spent as a fisherman at Cohasset, Mass. 
He ne.xt found employment as a sailor on 
board coasting vessels, later entering the ser- 
vice of the United States government. Eor 
several years he w^as employed altcniatel}' as 
fireman and seaman in the revenue, marine, 
and light-house service. He subsequently 
shipped as fireman on board the steamship 
"Cleopatra," plying between New York City, 
Mexico, and the West Indies. The vessel was 
wrecked in the West Indies; and Mr. Dick, 
having escaped with his life, returned to the 
United States, and again entered the revenue 
service, in which he remained for eleven years. 
In 1890 he settled in North Scituate, and has 
since been engaged in his present business. 



The Lincoln grist-mill privilege on Bound 
Brook has been in use since 1691 or 1692, 
and has a propelling force of about ten horse- 
power. Mr. Dick is. now the owner of the 
mill, and he is carrying on a profitable busi- 
ness. He deals in all kinds of grain and 
feed, hay and 'straw, and employs several 
delivery teams. 

Mr. Dick married Abbie A. T. Morris, 
daughter of the late Jose|)h Morris, of Scitu- 
ate. In politics he is a Republican. In his 
business transactions he displays ability and 
integrity, and he has gained the respect and 
esteem of .his fellow-townsmen. He is a 
Master Mason, and a member of the Masonic 
Lodge in Cohasset. 




HARLES J. SPRAGUE, a contract- 
ing painter of Brant Rock, is one of 

.2 - the successful business men of this 

locality. A son of Joseph and Pamelia (Keen) 
Sprague, both natives of Du.xbury, Mass., he 
was born in that quaint old town, January 5, 
1853. The Spragues are an old family of 
Duxbury. Captain Joseph, who was a son of 
Jonathan Sprague, followed the sea until about 
thirty-five years of age, and then settled on a 
farm in Duxbury, where he died in 1891. 
His wife still survives, being now seventy-four 
\cars old. Three of their children are living: 
Isaac J., residing in Colorado; Sarah K., wife 
of Elliot Low, of Roxbury, Mass. ; and 
Charles J. 

Charles J. Sprague was educated in pulilic 
and private schools in Duxbury. He left 
home at the age of nineteen, and served an 
apprenticeship to a carpenter and joiner in 
South Boston, Mass., working at the trade 
some seven years in all. His health failing, 
he moved to Brant Rock in 1878 with the ho|ie 
of bettering himself, and here worked at the 



560 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



carpenter's trade for some time, eventually 
establishing a good business as a contracting 
painter. Mr. Sprague is a thoroughly experi- 
enced builder, and his manner of fulfilling a 
contract is always satisfactory. He has charge 
of a number of summer cottages, and during 
the summer he keeps a number of livery teams 
for the use of visitors besides letting pleasure 
boats. He has been prosperous in all his 
business ventures, his good judgment, probity, 
and strict attention to business winning the 
confidence of his patrons. 

Mr. Sprague was married April 4, 1S83, to 
Marion, daughter of George H. Tucker, late 
of Norwood, Mass., and has one daughter — 
Marion P., born February 6, 1884. In poli- 
tics he favors the Republican party. He is 
a public-spirited citizen, always in favor of any 
project for the improvement of the town of 
Marshfield. 

■AMES DAMON, of Scituate, a descend- 
ant of one of the Colonial settlers on 
Kent Street, John Damon, who came 
to Scituate when a minor, before 1633, was 
born in Scituate, August 10, 18 19, a son of 
John and Rebecca (Litchfield) Damon. The 
first John came to this country with an uncle, 
William Gillson, who was one of the "men of 
Kent," and settled permanently in Scituate; 
and, beginning with his children, several gen- 
erations of the family have had birth and resi- 
dence in Scituate, the line connecting him 
with James Damon, including Experience, 
Ichabod, Josiah, and Josiah, James Damon's 
grandfather. The last-named gentleman was 
a fisherman of Scituate, and died in this town. 
His son John, father of the special subject of 
this sketch, was engaged in mackerel fishing 
until he was forty years old. After that he 
followed the pursuit of agriculture at Farm 
Neck up to the time of his death. A success- 



ful business man and good manager, he was 
highly respected by his townsmen. In poli- 
tics he was a Democrat. He died in i86y, in 
his seventy-fourth year. He had been mar- 
ried three times, and was survived by his 
third wife, his nephew John's widow, Hannah 
Damon, who died in 1889, having borne him 
no children. His first wife, Rebecca Litch- 
field, mentioned above, bore him five chil- 
dren, two of whom are living: Xoa, wife of 
Richmond Torrey, of Brockton, Mass. ; and 
James, of Scituate. By his second wife, Al- 
mira White, he had three children, of whom 
one, John B. , is living. 

James Damon was reared and educated in 
Scituate. He began in boyhood to accompany 
his father on fishing trips, and, after he was 
twenty-seven years old, was engaged for a 
number of years in the mackerel fisheries as 
an employee of others, having command of a 
fishing schooner for some time. While fol- 
lowing the sea, he saw much of the world, 
visiting, among other places, the Carol inas 
and the West Indies; and he has many inter- 
esting tales to tell of scenes and customs in 
antc-belluiii times. When Fort Warren in 
Boston Harbor was in process of construction, 
Mr. Damon was employed by the government 
as mate of the "General Warren," a schooner 
used to convey the workmen back and forth be- 
tween Boston and the fort, and to carry sup- 
plies and builders' materials. He was occu- 
pied in this way some thirty-two months, and 
was subsequently first mate on a light -house 
and buoy tender plying between Cape Cod and 
Portsmouth, N.H. About i860 he retired 
from the sea, and turned his attention to agri- 
cultural pursuits. He was two years superin- 
tendent of the Ouincy (Mass.) Poor Farm, but 
with that exception has lived in his present 
dwelling, which he erected in 1850. During 
his long and active life Mr. Damon has wit- 




CORNELIUS F. BRADFORD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



5(>3 



nessed man)' changes, not only in Scituate, 
but in and around Massachusetts Hay; and he 
takes a lively interest in the march of prog- 
ress. 

On November 28, 1845, he was married to 
Abigail W. Green, a native of Northboro, 
Mass., daughter of John and Sallie (Harring- 
ton) Green; and they have one daughter, Sarah 
R. She graduated from the State Normal 
School at Hridgewater in January, 1877, and, 
after devoting some time to primary work in 
the public schools of Scituate, was elected 
principal of the grammar school at North 
Scituate. This position she has held for thir- 
teen years, winning respect and love as a 
capable and conscientious teacher. I\Ir. 
Damon, who is a Republican, served for some 
time on the School Committee of Scituate. 
Mrs. and Miss Damon are members of the 
Baptist church. 



T^ORNELIUS FRANCIS BRADl'ORl), 
I Sr^ senior partner of the firm of Bradford, 

^J^ ^ Kyle & Co., manufacturers of insu- 
lated electric wire at Plymouth, Mass., was born 
in this town, March 4, 1845, son of Captain 
Joseph M. and Anna R. (Raymond) Bradford. 
Mr. Bradford's father's grandparents were 
Cornelius, first, and Elizabeth Bradford, who 
resided in Kaai I'almouth, Mass. ; and their 
children were: Cornelius, second; I'lphraim ; 
Rebecca; William; Josiah ; Thankful; Ik't- 
sey ; and Mary. The elder Cornelius Ihadford 
had two brothers, Edward and David Bradford, 
the latter of whom lived in Kingston, Mass. 
Cornelius Bradford, second, grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, was a resident of lilast 
Falmouth. He married Mar\- Baker, daughter 
of Barney Baker; and two children were born 
to them — namely, Joseph M. and Celia Nye. 
The daughter became the wife of Newell Ray- 



mond, son of George Raymond. The second 
Cornelius Bradford died in 1S20; and his 
widow, Mrs. Mary Baker Bradford, married 
for her second husband I-'rancis Nye. She 
lived to the age of about eighty years. 

Jose[)h M. Bradford, only son of Cornelius 
and Mary, was for some years a shipmaster of 
New Bedford ; but he finally relinquished sea- 
faring, and, when his son Cornelius I-", was 
two years old, removed with his family to 
Zanesville, 111. Captain Joseph M. Bradford 
married Anna R., daughter of George and 
I'riscilla (.Shaw) Raymond; and they were the 
parents of six children, as follows: Joseph E., 
Adreanna, George Russell, Cornelius Francis, 
.Seth Russell, and Anna Robinson. The 
father survived si.x years after settling in the 
West ; and the ientire family died in Zanesville, 
with the exception of Cornelius and his brother 
George. 

Mrs. Anna Raynmnd Bradford was a repre- 
sentative of that branch of the Sampson family 
of Plymouth County which was founded by 
Abraham Sampson, who came to this county in 
1629, and is said to have been a brother of 
Henry .Sampson, who came over on the "May- 
flower " in 1620. William Sampson, son of 
George and grandson of Abraham, was born 
July 8, 1695. He married Joanna \'aughn, 
August 24, 1 721; and his daughter Zilpha 
iKcanie the wife of Joseph Bryant, of Plymp- 
ton. Ruth, daughter of Joseph and Zilpha 
(.Sampson) Bryant, married William Shaw, 
of Middleboro, in 1780. Their children were : 
Phebe, who died November 21, 1806, aged 
seven years; Eleazar, who died November 9, 
1806, aged twenty-four; William; Pri.scilla, 
who married George Raymond, a native of 
]5oston, and was the mother of Anna (Mrs. 
Bradford); Harvey; Ruth, who died May 29, 
181 1, aged twenty-one years; Sarah; Mary; 
and Cyrus. 



564 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Cornelius Francis Bradford, after a resi- 
dence of six years in Zanesville, came to live 
with his grandparents, George and Priscilla 
Raymond, in Plymouth; and he acquired his 
education in the schools of this town. When 
his studies were completed, he engaged for a 
time in shoemaking, later working in a tack 
factory for a few months, after which he 
entered the employ of his uncle Charles, a 
furniture dealer, with whom he remained for 
eleven years. lie then carried on a pattern 
and repair shop on Middle Street for twelve 
years, at the expiration of which time he be- 
came an employee at the Plymouth mills. In 
1890 he formed a partnership with John Scott 
for the purpose of engaging in the manufacture 
of insulated electric wire, inaugurating an 
enterprise which has since developed into 
large proportions. A few months later E. L. 
Edes bought Mr. Scott's interest; and the 
firm was Bradford and Edes until Mr. Edes 
retired, when Nathaniel Morton was admitted 
as a partner, the firm being changed to Brad- 
ford & Morton. William S. Kyle became 
interested in the concern a short time later; 
and the firm now known as Bradford, Kyle & 
Co. transact a large and constantly growing 
business in their special line. 

On October 4, 1866, Mr. Bradford was 
united in marriage with Mary E. Fuller, 
daughter of George and Mary (Thomas) F'uller, 
of Plymouth. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford have 
one daughter living — Anna R., who is the 
wife of Adoniram J. Smith, an employee at 
the factory, and has two children: Leslie 
Bradford, born March 6, 1892; and Ellen 
Porter, born March 23, 1896. 

Mr. Bradford has a wide circle of acquaint- 
ances, with whom he is a general favorite; 
and he is highly respected as an enterprising 
citizen, whose efforts in expanding the indus- 
trial resources of Plymouth have greatly bene- 



fited the general community. Me is the 
inventor of the machinery used in his manu- 
factory to cover the wire for electrical pur- 
poses, and he received a patent about eight 
years ago. lie is a charter member of the 
Plymouth Yacht Club, which was organized 
six years ago; and he has built and superin- 
tended the building of eight yachts. In poli- 
tics Mr. Bradford supports the Republican 
party. 

p^\AUL MOTT, a highly esteemed resi- 
^-»^ dent of Scituate, was born in the 
- adjoining town of Hinghani, Septem- 

ber 17, 1813, a son of Josejih and Lydia 
(Churchill) Mott. Joseph Mott was a son of 
Stephen Mott, an early settler in Scituate, and 
was born in this town. During his active life 
he followed the trade of a ship-calker in Scitu- 
ate and the vicinity. In politics he was a 
Jacksonian Democrat. He was almost ninety- 
three years old when death called him from 
earth. His wife was a native of Hingham. 

Paul Mott was a young child when his par- 
ents removed from Hingham to Scituate, and 
in the district school of the latter town he 
acquired his education. He began to goto sea 
with the mackerel fishers when only thirteen 
years old, and every summer for a quarter of 
a century found him in the fishing fleet. At 
the age of seventeen he began to learn calking 
with his father, and served until he attained 
his majority. After that he worked at the 
trade winters for twenty-five years or more, 
rising to the position of master calker. He 
worked in a number of places along the South 
Shore, finishing many important contracts in 
Cohasset especially. In 18S5 he retired from 
active work, and has since enjoyed the leisure 
to which he is so well entitled. Mr. Mott has 
been prudent as well as industrious, and is 
well endowed with this world's goods. The 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



565 



burden of years sits lightly on his shoulders, 
and his boyhood seems but as yesterday. He 
has lived in the same house in Scituate fifty- 
seven years. 

Mr. Mott's first wife, who before marriage 
was Miss Lydia Vinal, bore him eight chil- 
dren, five of whom are living: Marion L., 
wife of Thimias V. Hailcy, of Scituate; Helen, 
wife of Wallace Wilcot, of Cohasset ; Leroy, 
residing in Scituate; Lydia, who resides at 
home with her father; and Lucy, wife of Wal- 
ter Damon, formerly of Scituate. The present 
Mrs. Mott, whose maiden name was Eliza 
Page, was born on the Cape. Mr. Mott votes 
the Republican ticket. He takes an active 
interest in town affairs, and has served on the 
School Committee of Scituate. 




I D WARD H. BONNEY, wholesale and 
retail fish dealer, occupies a prominent 
place among the business men of 
Scituate. He was born in the neighboring 
town of Mar.shfield, January 28, 1841, a son of 
Cephas and Deborah Ann (Soper) Bonney. 
(A further account of the Bonney family may 
be found in the sketch of William F. Bonney, 
of Marshfield.) Cephas Bonney was born in 
Hanson, I\Liss. A moulder by trade, he re- 
sided in Marshfield for many years, working 
at his trade most of the time. His wife also 
was born in Hanson. 

Edward H. Bonney was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Marshfield. He left his native 
town at the age of nineteen to engage in the 
fish business at Scituate Harbor, and from a 
small and modest beginning developed a large 
and prosperous trade. For a number of years 
he was engaged in packing fish, principally 
herring, mackerel, and cod; and he was en- 
gaged in the retail coal trade for over a quarter 
of a century, selling that branch of his busi- 



ness in 1895 to George I'. Welch. He now 
manages an e.xtensive wholesale and retail 
trade in fresh fish and lobsters, shipping to 
Boston, Brockton, and other places, besides 
meeting the demands of his local trade. Mr. 
Bonney is a self-made man, whose success has 
been fairly won. He was married April 8, 
i860, to LouLsa V. Bates, of Scituate, daugh- 
ter of Caleb Bates (now deceased), and has two 
children: Ada F., wife of George V. Ye- 
netchi, of this town; and Ernest L. In poli- 
tics he favors the Republican party. In busi- 
ness in Scituate since i860, he ranks among 
the substantial citizens of the town, and is 
widely known and highly esteemed. 




LBl'RT L. ALGER, wholesale milk 
dealer, owns a good farm of one hun- 
dred and fifty acres in West Bridge- 
water, and his house, which was built in 1806, 
has sheltered generations of Algers. He was 
born in this tow^n, March 27, 1839, son of 
Ward and Elizabeth L. (Howard) Alger, both 
natives of West Bridgewater. His great- 
grandfather, Nathan Alger, was an early 
settler in the Alger neighborhood; and his 
grandfather, Willis Alger, was born here. 
Ward Alger passed his life in his native town, 
dying in November, 1892. In politics he was 
a Republican; in religious belief, a Baptist. 
His wife died in April, 1894. They were the 
parents of three children: Mary F'lizabeth, the 
eldest, deceased; Luther W. ; and Albert I.., 
the subject of this sketch. 

Albert L. Alger acquired his primary edu- 
cation in the schools of the district. With 
the intention of qualifying himself as a civil 
engineer he began a course of study at Middle- 
boro Academy, but, changing his mind, did 
not complete it. Giving his attention to dairy 
farming, for which his e.xtensive estate offers 



566 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



admirable facilities, he has developed a thriv- 
ing business which brings him a generous 
annual income. In social matters relating to 
agriculture he has long taken a prominent 
part, exercising the authority born of experi- 
ence and knowledge of this sphere of industry. 
He was for six years a Trustee of the Plym- 
outh County Agricultural Society; was two 
years superintendent of the agricultural 
grounds at Bridgewater; and he is one of the 
leading members of West Bridgewater Grange, 
No. 156. 

Mr. Alger was married November 21, 1858, 
to Miss Flora Williams, of Raynham, Mass., 
daughter of George and Harriet (Bassett) 
Williams; and three children have blessed 
their union. The eldest, Hattie F., a gradu- 
ate of the State Normal School at Bridge- 
water, is the wife of Clinton P. Howard; the 
second child, Lucia, who also is a Normal 
School graduate, is teaching in Somerville, 
Mass. ; and the youngest, George, a graduate 
of the commercial department of Bri.stol 
County Academy, who attended the Massachu- 
setts State Agricultural College at Amherst 
for two years, but was obliged to give up his 
studies on account of ill-health, is in the retail 
coal business at Westdale, Mass. 

Mr. Albert L. Alger was for three succes- 
sive years, 1893, 1894, and 1895, a delegate 
to the Republican State Convention; and he 
was for four years Treasurer of the Republi- 
can Town Committee. In all local political 
movements he takes an active part, and his 
opinion is received with respect. He is well 
advanced in Masonry, being a member of Paul 
Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Satucket 
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Bay State 
Commandery, Knights Templars, all of Brock- 
ton ; also a member of Aleppo Temple of the 
Mystic Shrine at Boston; and he is affiliated 
with Howard Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of 



West Bridgewater. A member of the Baptist 
church at West l?ridgewatcr, he has officiated 
as Deacon for some time, and has served on 
the I<"inance Committee of the church. Of a 
genial and obliging disposition and public- 
spirited, Mr. Alger is widely and favorably 
known throughout the county. 



fUTHER KEENE is one of the oldest 
native residents of Hanson, born May 
^0^ 23, 1805, son of Ebenezer and Me- 
hitable (Phillips) Keene. The family are of 
English origin. Martha Keene, a widow, 
came to America with her five children in 
1638, in the ship "Fortune. " She settled in 
Marshfield; and from her was descended in 
direct line Isaiah Keene, the great-grand- 
father of our subject, who was born in Pem- 
broke, now South Hanson, and took part as a 
drummer-boy in the battle of Bunker Hill. 
He was engaged the greater part of his life in 
farming. His wife, a Miss Bisby before mar- 
riage, became the mother of a large family of 
children. Their son, Isaiah Keene, Jr., was 
born in Duxbury, and on reaching maturity 
took up his father's occupation of farming, 
which he followed with good success. He 
married Lydia, daughter of James and Lydia 
V^aughn, of Hanson ; and they had several 
children. Ebenezer Keene, the eldest son, 
and father of Luther, was born in Hanson, 
February 1 1, 1782, and was a lifelong resident 
of this town. He was a successful farmer and 
a prominent citizen, being called upon at 
different times to serve in various town offices. 
He married Mehitable Phillips, daughter of 
Lock Phillips; and they had ten children. 

Luther Keene, direct subject of this sketch, 
was the eldest child of his parents. He was 
educated in the public schools, and subse- 
quently engaged in farming with his father. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



567 



He also went into the liiisiness of manufact- 
uring charcoal, for which he found a ready 
market in ]?oston, transporting it to that city 
with an ox-team twice a week. Mr. Keene 
has always been prompt to perform his duties 
as a citizen. He takes an intelligent interest 
in public affairs, and has held several town 
offices, having served two years as Overseer of 
the rnor. He was at one time Captain of tlic 
Hanson militia, and was very popular in mil- 
itary circles. Mr. Keene married Almira, 
daughter of Jonathan Reed, of Kast l^ridge- 
water. He and hi.s wife had three children 
— Leonard, David, and Sophronia. Leonard, 
the only survivor, is employed in lioston as a 
machinist, but resides in North Weymouth. 



7~^APTAIN CHARLES W. SOULK, 
I jp of Scituate, is an able and wide- 

^JL^.^ awake citizen who has travelled ex- 
tensively and taken an active part in military, 
mercantile, and political affairs. He was born 
in Rockland, Mass., February 23, 1833, son of 
Josiah and Sophronia (Jenkins) Soule, and is 
descended from George Soule, one of the 
"Mayflower" Pilgrims. 

Josiah Soule was a native of Duxbury, 
Mass., and a son of Josiah Soule, Sr. , of that 
town. He learned the batter's trade in his 
youth, and worked at it for a number of years 
in Scituate; then engaged in shoemaking, 
eventually establishing a manufacturing busi- 
ness. Until 1856 he was a Jacksonian Dem- 
ocrat. He then joined the new-born Republi- 
can i)arty, around whose standards all opposed 
to slavery were rallying, and was faithful to 
its principles the rest of his life. Mr. Josiah 
Soule was a lifelong resident of Plymouth 
County. He died in Rockland in June, 1886, 
aged eighty-six years. His wife, Mrs. So- 
phronia J. Soule, was a native of Scituate. 



Charles W. Soule entered the world of trade 
at the age of fifteen, obtaining a clerkship in 
a store in Rockland, Mass. He remained in 
this establishment a number of years, eventu- 
ally purchasing the business and conducting it 
successfully for an extended period. In 1858 
he went West, and in that then wild country 
he had many thrilling experiences. He was 
one of a company who travelled from Leaven- 
worth, Kan., to Denver, Col., with mules 
and wagons, camping on the plains at night. 
The journey, which is now made so cpiickly by 
rail, consumed twenty-six days, and was at- 
tended with many dangers from Indians and 
wild beasts. Arriving in Denver, which bore 
little resemblance at that time to the beautiful 
city of to-day, Mr. Soule engaged in mercan- 
tile business. In the latter part of 1861 he 
returned to Scituate; and on August 24, 1862, 
he enlisted as a private in the Forty-third 
Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteer Infan- 
try. On the organization of Company F he 
was chosen Captain. Mustered in September 
12, 1862, his regiment was incorporated with 
the Kightecnth Army Corps, and was sent to 
North Carolina to join General Foster's com- 
mand. Here Captain Soule participated in 
the battles of Goldsboro, Kingston, and White- 
hall, serving eleven months, though he had 
enlisted but for nine. After receiving his 
discharge, he returned to Plymouth County. 
He subsecjuently went to Tennessee, and 
opened a store; but the South did not suit 
him, and he finally returned to the old Pay 
State, and was engaged until 1872 in mercan- 
tile business in Rockland. In that year he 
obtained a position in the paving department 
of the City Corporation of Boston, which oc- 
cupied him some two years and a half; and he 
was afterward engaged in other business in 
Poston until 1886, the year of his permanent 
settlement in Scituate. 



568 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Independent in politics, reserving the priv- 
ilege of voting for the best candidate irrespec- 
tive of party, Captain Soule has long been 
actively interested in public matters. He 
served as Selectman of Rockland and as a 
member of the School Committee, and was 
elected from that town to the Lower House of 
the State legislature in 1869. An active Grand 
Army man, he was Commander of George W. 
Perry Post, No. 31, of Scituate, for two years, 
and is still a member of that body. 

Captain Soule was married May 29, 1855, 
to Annie E., daughter of Captain John and 
Abigail T. (Ford) Manson, all natives of 
Scituate. Mrs. Soule' s grandparents were 
Captain Nehemiah and Hannah (Lincoln) 
Manson. Captain Nehemiah Manson, who 
was a master mariner, served in the Revolu- 
tionary War. His wife was a member of the 
family to which President Lincoln belonged. 

John Manson, Mrs. Soule's father, followed 
the sea from early youth. He was a great 
many years in the employ of William F. 
Weld & Co., having charge as Captain of 
different vessels of their line, mainly in the 
New Orleans and Liverpool trade. This was 
before the time of transatlantic steamers, and 
Captain John Manson transported many emi- 
grants from Liverpool to American ports. He 
commanded the "Meridian," in her day the 
largest merchantman afloat ; and the last ves- 
sel under his charge was the "Golden 
Fleece," in which he made three trips from 
New York and Boston to California, doubling 
Cape Horn. Two of his sons and a grandson 
succeeded him in the same occupation. The 
Captain was at first a Whig and later a Repub- 
lican, and represented his party in the Massa- 
chusetts legislature in 1868. An upright and 
conscientious man, who always respected his 
neighbors' rights and privileges, he was held 
in the highest regard by all who knew him. 



He was a constant attendant of the Unitarian 
church. He died in Scituate, July 14, 1889, 
aged eighty-four. Five of his children are 
living, namely: Annie E. (Mrs. Soule), Cap- 
tain John L. Manson, George W. , and Captain 
Edmund S. Manson, all of Dorchester, Mass. ; 
and Helen M., wife of Dr. George O. Jenkins, 
of 510 Broadway, South Boston. 

' Mrs. Soule was educated in public and pri- 
vate schools in Scituate and at Wheaton Semi- 
nary, Norton, Mass. She is prominent and 
popular in society, and has served efficiently 
for some length of time as President and 
Treasurer of the Woman's Relief Corps, at- 
tached to George W. Perry Post, No. 31, 
Grand Army of the Republic. She is also 
a Daughter of the American Revolution. 
Three children have blessed the union of Cap- 
tain and Mrs. Soule: John M., a citizen of 
East Weymouth, Mass., and Charles S., in 
Somerville, Mass., both being in business with 
wholesale houses in Boston ; and Captain 
Arthur L. Soule, a resident of San Francisco, 
master of the bark "Martha Davis," en- 
gaged in the sugar trade between San Fran- 
cisco and Honolulu. 




AMUEL H. HOWARD, a highly 
respected citizen of West Bridge- 
water, where he is now living in 
retirement, is a native of this town. He was 
born December i, 181 5, a son of Alfred and 
Hannah (Hartwell) Howard, both of whom 
were born in West Bridgewater, Mass. Na- 
than Howard, the father of Alfred, was a lin- 
eal descendant of John Howard, the first of 
the name to settle in Old Bridgewater. 

Alfred Howard, who lived in West Bridge- 
water all his life, died here in May, 1856, in 
his eighty-second year. He was a Whig in 
politics, and had a large acquaintance through- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



569 



out this locality. Mis. Howard's father was 
a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary struggle. 
She and her husband are survived by three 
children, namely : Jane, widow of the late 
Lloyd Howard, of West Hridgewater; Julia, 
widow of the late Ephraim Howard, of West 
15ridgewater ; and Samuel H. 

Samuel H. Howard, the only son, grew to 
man's estate on the farm where he resides and 
has been a lifelong farmer. He received in 
his boyhood a good common-school education. 
I-'or four years he was superintendent of the 
town farm in North Bridgewater, now Brock- 
ton, and for two years of the town farm of 
West Bridgewater; but aside from that the 
rest of his active life he has spent on his 
farm, where he has been successfully engaged 
in general husbandry. 

On October 15, 1840, Mr. Howard married 
Miss Lavina Wilbur, daughter of Marshall and 
Phcebe (Leonard) Wilbur, of Bridgewater, 
Mass. She was born in Warren, Me., July 
18, 1817. Her father, who diet! in 1835, was 
a native of Bristol County, Massachusetts, and 
her mother of Middleboro, Mass. They lived 
in Maine eleven years, coming from there to 
Bridgewater. Mr. I\h^rshall Wilbur, who was 
Captain of a military company while residing 
in \\'arren, lost his life by falling from a mill 
that he was building in Orono, Me. His 
father was George Wilbur, and the family is 
one of the oldest in Bridgewater. Of the chil- 
dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur, four are 
living, namely: Horatio N. ; Lavina, Mrs. 
Howard; George; and Keziah, the widow of 
Elam Howard. A son named Marshall died 
in California, and his brother Edwin died in 
liridgewater. Mr. and Mrs. Howard have had 
four children, of whom three are living: Lu- 
cinda K., widow of I'rank Cooper; George; 
and Irvin. For a number of years Mr. How- 
ard has served acceptably as Selectman of West 



Bridgewater. He is a Republican in iiolitical 
affiliation. 



^1 ENRY CARVER, dealer in coal, 

=r| flour, grain, and baled hay, with 
place of business at Marshfield Sta- 
tion, is a representative citizen of I'lymouth 
County, a member of one of the old Puritan 
families. A native of Marshfield, son of 
David and Rachel F. (Stetson) Carver, he was 
born February 20, 1848. His lineage in- 
cludes John Carver, the first governor chosen 
by the Pilgrims after they landed from the 
"Mayflower" at Provincetown ; and he has in 
his home a chair that is said to have come 
over in the historic ship. His father, David, 
who was a son of David Carver, was a farmer 
by occupation, a native and lifelong resident 
of Marshfield, and in politics a Democrat. 
He died April 15, 1870. His wife, Rachel, 
who was a native of Pembroke, Mass., died 
September 15, 1873. They were the parents 
of si.x children — John, William, Henry, and 
David, all living at present; and two daugh- 
ters, who have passed away. 

Henry Carver was educated in the common 
schools of Marshfield. He was reared on the 
home farm in this town, and during early 
manhood was engaged in agriculture, also 
trading in cattle. Endowed with much nat- 
ural business ability, he has been very suc- 
cessful in his ventures, especially the latest 
one — his establishment in trade. In July, 
1895, he purchased the coal, grain, and hay 
business of R. H. Moorehend, who at that 
time retired from trade after a long term of 
mercantile life. Mr. Carver has shown him- 
self to be well adapted to the business, and 
has a large and increasing custom. He has 
also done quite a probate business in the 
settlement of estates. Politically, he is a 
Democrat, with independent proclivities. He 



57° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



is active and prominent in town affairs, and 
lias capably served as Road Commissioner. 



KEANDER WINSLOVV, a retired sea- 
man, is now a farmer and merchant 
^0^ in his native place, Lakeville, 
Mass., formerly a part of Middleboro. He 
was born September 26, 1834, son of Asa 
Tyler and Ann (Pickens) Winslow. He 
traces his descent on the paternal side from 
Kcnelm Winslow, a brother of Governor Ed- 
ward Winslow, and third son of Edward Wins- 
low, of Droitwich, England. Kenelm joined 
the Plymouth Colony about nine years after 
the landing of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims, 
probably accompanying his brother Josiah. 
Kenelm Winslow married Eleanor, daughter 
of John Adams, of Plymouth. From their son 
Kenelm^ the line continues thus, the figures 
denoting the generation: Josiah'^, Josiah*, 
Ezra^ Asa*^, Asa Tyler', Leander^. 

Asa Tyler Winslow, born in Middleboro 
(now Lakeville), July 6, 1798, died September 
15, 1878. His first wife, Hannah, daughter 
of William and Mary Canedy, was born Feb- 
ruary 22, 179S, and died June 28, 1824, leav- 
ing an infant, Hannah C. His second wife, 
Ann Pickens, daughter of Zattu and Rachel 
(Mead) Pickens, was born June 3, 1800, and 
died March 17, 1895. F'rom the last union 
there were four children: Asa, born November 
28, 1832; Leander, born September 26, 1834, 
as mentioned above; Eliza Ann, February 17, 
1837; and Rachel P., October 5, 1842, all 
now living. Asa T. Winslow, the father, was 
repeatedly elected to serve the town as Select- 
man, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He 
was a Justice of the Peace, and he served as a 
representative to the General Court. His two 
wives belonged to old and influential families 
of this vicinity. 



The farm which Mr. Leander Winslow now 
owns and occupies is the Lakeville homestead, 
where the greater part of his boyhood was 
spent, he having been three years of age when 
his parents removed hither with their family. 
When he reached his sixteenth year, he left 
home to try the fortunes of a seafaring life, 
engaging as one of the ship's crew on board 
the "Orozimbo, " a whaling vessel. The boy 
sailor's first cruise lasted for thirty-three 
months, during which period the whaler 
ploughed the waters of the Arctic and Pacific 
Oceans. The homeward voyage was made by 
the way of Cape Horn, so that within a little 
short of three years he had indeed travelled far 
and seen much. On his return home he en- 
tered the Myricksville Academy, where he was 
a student for a period of seven months, this 
interval lasting between the dates of his first 
and second voyages. At the expiration of the 
seven months he again took passage on the 
whaling vessel, the ship "Hunter, " this time 
as third mate and bound now for a cruise in 
the Indian Ocean. 

The voyage was a long one ; and Leander 
Winslow did not touch his native shores again 
until four years, lacking one month, had rolled 
over his head. At the earnest desire of his 
parents he then gave up his nautical calling, 
and for about four years remained tranquilly 
at home. But this was not to last, for in 1862 
he enlisted as a private in Company I, Third 
Mas.sachusetts Volunteer Infantry. A few 
months later he went to Boston, from which 
point he was ordered aboard a transporting 
vessel, bound for New Berne, N. C. , where he 
remained until his discharge from service, 
June 26, 1863. Returning home, he assumed 
charge of the farm where he has since lived. 
He has also been engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness since 1870. 

Mr. Winslow was first married July 13, 




LEANDER WINSLOW. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



57^ 



1861, to Isabella V. Canedy, daughter of John 
VV. and Lucy (McCully) Canedy. She was 
born January 23, 1842, and died May 30, 
1865, a devoted wife and mother. She had 
given birth to two children, namely: a son, 
Leander H. ; and a daughter, Alice V., who is 
now a teacher in the State Normal School at 
Bridgewater. On March 20, 1867, Mr. Wins- 
low was united in marriage with Sally D. 
Sampson, his second wife, who has proved a 
true helpmate. She was born March 22, 1835, 
a daughter of Ebenezer D. and Eliza Cook 
(Dean) Sampson, of Lakeville. One child 
was born of this union — a daughter Isabella 
Frances, now a teacher in the public schools 
of New Bedford. 

Mrs. Winslow, like her husband, comes of 
an old Plymouth County family. She num- 
bers among her ancestors at least two distin- 
guished "Mayflower" Pilgrims, Miles Stan- 
dish and John Alden. Her father, PLbenezer 
D. Sampson, son of b'.jias, was a grandson of 
Uriah Sampson, who was born in 171 7 at 
Plympton, Mass. His father, Isaac Sampson, 
Jr., was a son of Isaac and grandson of Abra- 
ham Sampson, who came to New England in 
1629 or 1630, and settled in Duxbui^y. He 
is said to have been a brother of Henry 
of the "Mayflower" company. Isaac Samp- 
son, Sr. , son of Abraham, married Lydia 
Standish, daughter of Alexander and Sarah 
(Alden) Standish, and grand-daughter of Cap- 
tain Miles .Standish and of John and Pris- 
cilla Alden. 

Mr. Winslow is a Democrat in his political 
affiliations, and has held the offices of Select- 
man and Assessor of the town for several years, 
and has likewise served on the School Commit- 
tee. His extensive travel has had the effect of 
enlarging his views of life and making him 
thereby a citizen of broad aims and liberal 
thought. 




UGEXb: H. CL.Xl'P, founder of the 
1:. II. Clapp Rubber Works at Hanover, 
Mass., was one of the representative 
business men of New England. He was born 
in South Scituate, now Norwell, Plymouth 
County, Mass., October 11, 1843, son of 
Allen and Deborah (Clapp) Clapp, and was 
the eldest of five children, the others being: 
Erstine (deceased) ; George A., now president 
of the E. H. Clapp Rubber Company ; Arthur 
W. , treasurer of the same; and Antoinette, 
who resides in Boston, Mass. The father was 
a respectable farmer, and both he and his wife 
traced their ancestry back to early members of 
the Plymouth colony. 

Eugene H. Clapp was educated in the 
schools of his native town and at Hanover 
Academy, being graduated from the latter 
institution in his sixteenth year. He made 
a study of civil engineering, but never fol- 
lowed it as a profession. His first money was 
earned as clerk in the wholesale and retail 
varnish house of Stimson, Valentine & Co., in 
Boston, lie was subsequently employed for 
a number of years as book-keeper for Henry 
Campbell, a dealer in old and new metals, 
who at his death in May, 1865, was succeeded 
by A. E. Morey, with whom Mr. Clapp re- 
mained two years. On leaving Mr. Morey's 
employ, Mr. Clapp started in business for him- 
self on Broad Street, Boston, dealing in old 
and new metals. 

Gradually becoming interested in the rubber 
business, he became identified with the Boston 
Belting Company and other rubber concerns. 
In 1871 he invented a method for removing 
the fibre from old rubber and preparing it so 
that it could be used again in the manufacture 
of new goods; and shortly after he started in 
the manufacture of reclaimed rubber, leasing 
a building in Roxbury, Mass. From a very 
small beginning, employing two machines and 



574 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



two men, he evolved the large and prosperous 
enterprise which bears his name to-day. Two 
years after he established his plant in Roxbury 
he moved to Hanover, where there were better 
facilities for water-power, and bought the right 
on the Indian Head Stream and the George 
Cnrtis Anchor Works. The anchor works 
buildings he remodelled to suit his purposes, 
and soon had a modest factory in operation, 
run by water-power. His partner at this time 
was his cousin, Frederick W. Clapp. 

For a number of years the water-power an- 
swered all requirements; but, finally, by the 
addition of one boiler and an engine of sev- 
enty-five horse-power, steam was introduced. 
Business increased so rapidly that it soon be- 
came necessary to operate the works day and 
night. The force of twenty-five men now 
employed was found inadequate, and Mr. Clapp 
increased the equipment of the plant to two 
boilers and a Corliss engine of two hundred 
and fifty horse-power. As the enterprise pros- 
pered, he erected another mill at Pembroke, 
eighty by forty feet, and two stories in height, 
with a commodious basement; and this he sub- 
sequently enlarged to twice its original size, 
besides adding a one-story addition, sixty by 
forty feet in dimension. The original Han- 
over works were one hundred and eight by 
sixty feet. On September g, 1881, they were 
destroyed by fire; but they were shortly re- 
built on a much larger scale, and equipped 
with the most improved modern machinery, 
including a one hundred and seventy - five 
horse-power Brown engine, four boilers being 
required to run the Corliss and Brown en- 
gines. Two large storehouses have since 
been added. 

Mr. Clapp was a Director of the Mechanics' 
Bank of Boston ; treasurer, director, and 
largest stockholder of the Penobscot Chemical 
Fibre Company at Great Works, Me. ; treas- 



urer and director of the Piscataquis Falls Pulp 
and Paper Company of Enfield, Me. ; origi- 
nator, manager, and member of the Board of 
Directors of the Boston Rubber Mutual P'ire 
Insurance Company; a large stockholder and 
director in the Whittier Machine Company 
of Boston ; treasurer of the Gaunt Evaporator 
Company; director of the Boston Suburban 
Light and Power Company; and president of 
the Roxbury Central Wharf Company. 

Mr. Clapp was twice married. His first 
wife, whose maiden name was Sarah R. 
Graves, bore him three children — Eugene H., 
William (deceased), and Sarah L. His sec- 
ond wife, who was Mary W. Caffrey, of Rox- 
bury, before marriage, was the mother of two 
children: Mary, who is still living; and Rob- 
ert, deceased. Mr. Clapp was a member in 
high standing of various fraternal organiza- 
tions. He was a thirty-second degree 
Mason, Treasurer of the Massachusetts Ma- 
sonic Lodge until his decease; belonged to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; was Grand 
Worthy Chief Templar of the Independent 
Order of Good Templars ; Grand Worthy 
Patriarch in the Sons of Temperance; and a 
member of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- 
lery Company of Boston. His home for some 
time previous to his death, which occurred 
March 12, 1S92, was at Boston Highlands. 

After Mr. Clapp's decease a stock company 
was organized to continue the manufacture of 
rubber goods at the Hanover and Pembroke 
plants, under the name of the E. H. Clapp 
Rubber Company, his brother, George A. 
Clapp, being chosen treasurer. This gentle- 
man was born in South Scituate, now Norwell, 
January 11, 1849. He acquired his education 
in the common schools of Norwell, and at the 
age of eighteen began to learn in Charlestown, 
Mass., the machinist's trade, to which he gave 
three years' apprenticeship. He then went to 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S7S 




work witli Ills bidtlier in tlio metal store in 
IJoston, niul was afterward associated with him 
in the management of the Ro.xhiiryand Han- 
over factories. He was superintenilent of tlie 
rubber business until the stock company was 
formed, when lie was chosen jiresident. He 
is an able business man, thoroughly qualified 
for his responsible position, and possesses a 
wide mechnnical knowledge. In politics he is 
a Republican. Like his brother, he is a Mason 
and an Odd Fellow. He was married in 1880 
to Miss Abbie A. Stetson, a native of Pem- 
broke, this county, and they have three chil- 
dren — George Allen, John .S., and Antoi- 
nette W. 

)LOYI) FR.ANKI.IN HAMMOND, an 
enterprising young farmer and highly 
res[iected citizen of Norwell, is a 
native of this town. He was horn March i, 
i860, son of Joseph T. and I-'llen C. (Barrell) 
Hammond. There were ten children in the 
family, seven sons and three daughters; 
namely, Lloyd I'ranklin, Oscar S. , Charles, 
George, Lottie, Lizzie, Herbert, ]?enjamin, 
Nellie, and William. 

When twelve years old, L. l-'ranklin Ham- 
mond came to live with Sylvanus Clapp, from 
whom at first he received in return for such 
work as he was able to perform his board and 
clothes. The past few years he has hail full 
charge of the farm, which contains about one 
hundred and fifty acres, and has devoted his 
attention to general husbandry. Besides this 
he is engaged in getting out box boards, and 
deals to some extent in wood. On November 
29, 1882, Mr. Hammond was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Lettie W. Sylvester, daughter 
of Nathaniel B. and Adeline Sylvester, of South 
Scituate. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Hammond ; namely, Sylvanus 
(deceased), Marion T., and Arthur North way. 




I'^ver since he attained his legal majority 
Mr. Hammond has taken a very active interest 
in political affairs, becoming at that time a 
member of the town Republican Club, with 
which he is still connected. In 1895 he was 
elected to the Lower House of the State legis- 
lature, and has served as Road Commissioner 
three years. He is an attendant of the Unita- 
rian church, and is a member of North River 
Lodge, No. 167, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Hanover, in which he is a Fast 
Grand; also the Phcenix Masonic Lodge of 
Hanover. 

1: KBh:RT I. :\I ITCH ELL, junior 
member of the large lumber house of 

^ I Lsam IMitchell & Co., of Brockton, 
was born in Middleboro, Plymouth County, 
January 29, 1 861. He is a son of lsam 
and Clarinda (Beals) Mitchell ; and on the 
paternal side he is descended from Fx- 
perience Mitchell, an Fjiglish separatist, 
who came over in the "Ann " from Holland 
in 1623. 

The immigrant ancestor had a sister Con- 
stant, who married John l-'obes, and a brother 
Thomas, who lived and died in Holland. 
Jacob Mitchell, son of Experience Mitchell, 
married in 1666 Susanna Pope, daughter of 
Thomas Pope, of Plymouth, Mass., and settled 
in Dartmouth, now Fairhaven. Both were 
killed by Indians in 1675, at the beginning of 
King Philip's War. Thomas Mitchell, son of 
Jacob and Susanna, had a son Seth, born in 
1715, who married Ann Latham; and their 
son Seth, Jr., was the father of "Simeon Wood 
Mitchell, the grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch. The Mitchell descendants have 
included many valuable citizens, strong in 
mind and body, who figured in the early wars 
of this country and were noted for their lon- 
gevity. In the old Bridgewater town records 



576 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



mention is made of certain Mitchells who 
fought in the Revolution. 

Simeon Wood Mitchell, who was a kinsman 
of the late Judge Mitchell, of Bridgewater, 
was born in 1795, and lived to be eighty-four 
years of age. In his youth he served in the 
War of 1812. He was a farmer of Bridge- 
water, and reputed to be one of the wealthiest 
men of the town. His wife was formerly a 
Miss Leonard, of ]5ridgewater. They were 
married in 1819; and they reared a family of . 
four daughters and three sons, Isam, the father 
of Herbert I., being the youngest son. 

Isam Mitchell has had a remarkably fortu- 
nate business career. He started in life as 
a journeyman carpenter, and gradually worked 
into the lumber business, eventually develop- 
ing an extensive and well-established trade, 
amounting to a quarter of a million dollars 
annually. At the large yard of Isam Mitchell 
& Co., in Brockton, about a thousand cars of 
lumber are received in a year; and they keep 
in their yard and extensive store sheds a mill- 
ion feet. He owns three large orange planta- 
tions in California, to which he now devotes 
his time and attention, making his home in 
that State and coming East only occasionally. 
Although his trees are young, he already ships 
some ten carloads of oranges a year. Mr. 
Isam Mitchell, now si.xty-one years of age, is 
a very active man. He gives his attention 
entirely to business, and has refused nomina- 
tion to public office. His wife is a daughter 
of Solomon Beals, of Middleboro, and a con- 
nection of the noted painter, Cephas Thomp- 
son. Three children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Isam Mitchell, and all of them are 
living. 

Herbert I. Mitchell acquired his primary 
education in West Bridgewater, his parents 
removing to that town when he was si.x months 
old, and remaining some ten years. He pur- 



sued his later studies in North l^ridgewater 
(now Brockton), graduating from the high 
school in 1879, and then went to work for his 
father as clerk. He was afterward made 
superintendent of the lumber yard; and he 
became his father's partner in 1888. Since 
that time he has had entire charge of the lum- 
ber business, which has noticeably prospered 
under his management. He is also somewhat 
interested in real estate. 

Mr. Mitchell was married in 1890 to a 
daughter of Charles Churchill, of Brockton, 
and has three children. In politics he takes 
no active interest, though he favors the Re- 
publican party. He is a prominent member of 
important social organizations, including Paul 
Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Brockton, 
of which he has been Master; Satucket Chap- 
ter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he has been 
High Priest; and I^ay State Commandery, 
Knights Templars. He was two years Deputy 
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge; and he is 
likewise a member of Damocles Lodge, No. 16, 
Knights of Pythias, and of the Brockton Com- 
mercial Club. 



M 



AVID CLARK, an enterprising and 
successful farmer and a prominent 
citizen of Plymouth, Mass., was 
born October 16, 1820, on the farm on which 
he now resides, his parents being Ezra and 
Sally (Blackmer) Clark. 

Ezra Clark, as we learn from Mr. W. T. 
Davis's "Ancient Landmarks," was of the 
seventh generation in descent from Thomas 
Clark, one of the Plymouth forefathers, who 
came in the "Ann" in 1623. The succeed- 
ing generations in this line were represented 
by James, second, born in 1636; John, third; 
James, fourth, born in 1696; James, fifth, 
born 1727, married Hannah Swift; and James, 
si.xth, born in 1762, in Plymouth, where he 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



577 



was engaged in general agricultural pursuits. 
Ezra, his son, and the father of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in the same house as 
the latter; and he also followed the honored 
calling of husbandry thn)u_i;bi)ul his mature 
years. He married Miss Sally Blnckmcr, 
daughter of Richard and Nancy (Ellis) Black- 
mer, of Plymouth. They became the parents 
of four children, namely: Uavid ; Lucy, now 
deceased; Sarah, who is now the widow of a 
Mrs. Spencer, and resides in Lynn; and 
Lewis, who was killed at tlie battle of Chan- 
cellorsville. Mr. Ezra Clark deceased at the 
age of eighty-two in i8So, his wife having 
died in 1857, at about fifty-five years of age. 
Their remains are interred in the cemetery of 
the Congregational church of Manomct. 

David Clark attained to manhood on the 
old homestead, residing there always with the 
e.xception of two years, and receiving iiis edu- 
cation in the district schools of his native 
town. lie began life for himself when 
twenty-one years of age, working in partner- 
ship with his father. He has continued to 
conduct general farming on the ancestral es- 
tate; and he has made one, and only one, 
coasting trip. Energetic and progressive, he 
has made almost all of the improvements on 
the estate. Mr. Clark has been married four 
times, and has had three children, as follows: 
Gideon H., who is now married, and works 
with his father; Ella S., now Mrs. L. Briggs, 
of Plymouth; and Uavid Herbert, now de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Clark has served his fellow-townsmen 
in several important public capacities. Eor 
eighteen years he has been a member of the 
Board of Selectmen of Plymouth; for one year 
he has officiated as Assistant Assessor; and 
he has for very many years held the office of 
Road Surveyor. His political opinions bring 
him into affiliation with the Republican party. 



■fgJO.X. JOHN DAVIS LONG, Secre- 
1^1 tary of the Navy, under the incoming 
-L^ V _ administration of President McKin- 
ley, his aiJ|)ointment having just been con- 
firmed by the Senate on March 5, 1897, has 
been a resident of Hinghani, Mass., since 
1869. Although a native of Maine, born in 
Buckfield, October 27, 1838, this distin- 
guished citizen of Massachusetts, the widely 
known, popular, and universally respected e.\- 
Governor, is descended from long lines of 
Colonial ancestry, and, as we gather from a 
brief biography in the Historj' of Hingham, 
numbers among his progenitors not a few who 
hatl their homes in Plymouth County. 

His father, Zadoc Long, born in Middle- 
boro in 1800, was a son of Thomas and 
Bathsheba (Churchill) Long and grandson of 
Miles Long, who came to Plymouth from 
North Carolina, and in 1770 married Thank- 
ful Clark. She was a descendant of Thomas 
Clark, who was one of the passengers in the 
"Ann," the third Pilgrim ship, in 1623. 
Another of her ancestors was the Rev. John 
Lothrop, the first minister of Barnstable. 
Zadoc Long married Julia Temple Davis, 
daughter of Simeon Davis, a lineal descendant 
of Dolor Davis, who came to Boston in 1634. 
The maiden name of Mrs. Long's mother was 
Pcrsis Temple. 

Well born of honest, intelligent New ling- 
land parents, well bred in a comfortable New 
England home, active-brained, aspiring, and 
resolute, John D. Long fitted for college at 
Hebron Academy, pursued his college course 
at Harvard, where he was graduated in 1857, 
second in his class, and author of the class 
ode. After serving two years as principal of 
Westford Academy, he went into the office of 
Sidney Bartlett, Esq., in Boston, where he 
studied law for a time, and in the autumn of 
i860 entered the Harvard Law School. Ail- 



578 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



mitted to the bar, he began practice in his 
native town in the spring of 1862; and a few 
months later, his energies and ability being 
equal to a wider field of effort, he removed to 
Boston. In this city, in 1863, he became the 
law partner of S. B. Allen, Esq., the firm 
being Allen & Long. 

A stanch Republican from the first, occa- 
sionally at an early period in his career taking 
part in political campaigns as a stump speaker, 
in 1874, five years after his removal to Hing- 
ham, he was elected Representative to the 
State legislature; and, being subsequently 
three times re-elected, he served as a member 
of the Lower House from 1875 to 1878 inclu- 
sive, and during the last three sessions as 
speaker. He was Lieutenant Governor of 
Massachusetts in 1879, Governor in 1880, 
1881, and 1882, and in the six years follow- 
ing, as Representative from the Second Mas- 
sachusetts Congressional District, was a mem- 
ber of the Forty-eighth, the Forty-ninth, and 
the Fiftieth Congress. 

In 1889 Mr. Long resumed his law prac- 
tice in Boston, to which he has since devoted 
his ripened energies with his old-time per- 
sistence and success. Office-seeking as a 
pastime or pursuit he has never indulged in. 
Official honors if they come to him, come un- 
sought. As a private citizen, he has not, 
however, been one absorbed in his own affairs 
and unmindful of his civic and social obliga- 
tions. Since taking up his residence in 
Hingham, he has served on the local School 
Board, as one of the Trustees of Derby Acad- 
emy, and of the Hingham Public Library, of 
Westford Academy, as President of the Amer- 
ican Unitarian Association, also of the Massa- 
chusetts Total Abstinence Society, not to 
mention numerous other organizations with 
which he has been and is connected. He 
has a happy gift as a presiding officer, and as 



a speaker on public occasions. A translation 
of the "/Eneid " in blank verse, which he 
published in 1S79, is an evidence of his 
scholarly tastes and literary abilities. In 
i88g, as President of the Pilgrim Society, 
he presided with grace and spirit at the dedi- 
cation of the national monument to the Pil- 
grim Fathers in Plymouth. In 1880 he re- 
ceived from Harvard the degree of Doctor of 
Laws. 

He was first married in 1870 to Mary 
Woodward Glover, daughter of George S. and 
Helen M. (Paul) Glover, of Roxbury. She 
died on February 16, 1882, leaving two chil- 
dren — Margaret and Helen. Mr. Long was 
married, second. May 22, 1886, to Agnes 
Pierce, daughter of the late Rev. Joseph D. 
and Martha S. (Price) Pierce, of North Attle- 
boro, Mass., and by this union has one son. 
Pierce, born December 29, 1887. Ancestors 
of Mrs. Long also, according to the genealo- 
gists and historians, were early settlers of the 
Plymouth Colony, among them being John 
Adams, who came in the "Fortune" in 162 1, 
and Captain Michael Pierce (whose son Ben- 
jamin married John Adams's grand-daughter 
Martha), who settled in Scituate in 1647, ren- 
dered great service to the colonists as a mili- 
tary leader in King Philip's War, and was 
killed by the Indians in March, 1676. He is 
said to have been a brother of Captain Will- 
iam Pierce, who commanded the "Ann" in 
1623, and later the "Lion" and other vessels 
that came over, and was the author of Pierce's 
"Almanac," 1639, the first book printed in 
the colony. The Rev. Joseph D. Pierce, Mrs. 
Long's father, who was born in North Scituate 
in 18 1 5, and died November 16, 1880 — a 
minister of the gospel, truly consecrated to 
his work, for more than twenty-five years the 
faithful and beloved pastor of the Universalist 
Church at North Attleboro — was a son of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



579 



John riercc, and was of the sixth generation 
in descent from Captain Michael Pierce, being 
of the line of his son Benjamin aforesaid. 
(See "Pierce Genealogy," by F. C. Pierce.) 

How well the [)ublic utterances of Mr. Long 
bear the test of print is evidenced by the vol- 
ume of "After-dinner and Other .Speeches," 
published by Houghton, Mifllin & Co. in 
1895, modestly held by the author as possibly 
of some value as a "partial reflection of the 
public sentiment, and of the topics and occa- 
sions, of a generation in Massachusetts which 
is now more past than present," and to which 
he inscribes them. The titles are various: 
"Forefathers' Day at Plymouth," "Webster 
Centennial at Marshfield," "Governor An- 
drew," "Unitarian Missionary Work. " These 
are a sample. We quote a few sentences 
taken almost at random, the first paragraph 
from the "Fourth of July Oration," the sec- 
ond from the " .Address on Libraries " : — 

"Faith in the common people is not a fine 
phrase or a dream. It is the teaching of ex- 
perience and test. . . . The people may be 
trusted with their own interests. If it shall 
appear that any one form of government or so- 
ciety fails, there will alw.iys be intelligence 
and wit enough to fashion a better ... As 
the dead past buries its dead, so the unborn 
future will solve its own needs. Ours is to 
do the duty of the present hour." 

"In the engrossments of every-day life, 
few of us apprehend what a niiivcrsitl blessing 
a library is. I have been surprised and de- 
lighted, in my observation of our towns, to 
find how generally people of all conditions of 
life and degrees of means depend upon the 
public library, of how many a sick room it is 
the light, of how many a poor man's home it 
is the cheer, of how much leisure and ennui it 
is the relief, and how thoroughly well-informed 
and well-read the community is made by its 



resources. Little docs he know of our New 
England culture who thinks it confined to the 
select, or who, from a thorough acquaintance 
with New luigland homes, has not almost in- 
variably found in them a wealth and variety of 
book study, an acquaintance with the field of 
authors and their works, a literary gleaning 
and harvest, which a characteristic reticence 
often hides, but which are as surely there as 
the waters, whose flow is in winter time un- 
heard, are under their mantle of ice and snow." 
Valuable suggestions and cautions follow in 
regard to stocking libraries, furnishing the 
best mental food and stimulus to young and 
growing minds. But we forbear to quote 
further. The book, with its ever timely words 
of wit and wisdom, its tributes to homely and 
to lofty virtues, its incitements to noble pa- 
triotism, deserves a wide reading. It is such 
a book as the guardians of libraries, who have 
not already placed a copy of it on their 
shelves, delight to put on their purchasing 
lists, marked "specially approved," to be as 
soon as practicable obtained. 



-ir-\ ANIEL E. BROWN, M.D., is one 
I I of the bright-minded and progres- 
f — kL^ sive physicians of Brockton, Mass. 
A graduate of Hahnemann College, and an 
experienced physician and surgeon, he is 
still studying, intending to qualify himself 
thoroughly in spec ial_ branches of his profes- 
sion. He was born ^in Ellsworth, Hancock 
County, Me., February 8, 1S65, son of Ivory 
L. and Emma (Eppes) Brown. On the pa- 
ternal side he is descended in the seventh 
generation from Peter Brown, one of the 
"Mayflower" passengers in 1620, and is 
connected with the family of the famous John 
Brown, of Ossawatomie, who was of the fifth 
generation in descent from the immigrant. 



S8o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Peter Brown died in Plymouth in 1633. 
Some of liis descendants settled on Cape Cod. 
The line of descent connecting him with Dr. 
Brown includes William; David, who settled 
in Truro, Mass.; Cyrenius; and I^phraim, the 
Doctor's grandfather. Ephraim Brown re- 
moved to the State of Maine, and kept a 
tavern in the vicinity of Ellsworth for a num- 
ber of years. In his day he was the only 
Universalist in that locality. He died at the 
age of seventy-eight. He married a Miss 
Lord, who was related to Chief Justice John 
A. Peters. They had bat one child, Ivory L., 
Dr. Brown's father. 

Ivory L. Brown was a man of some standing 
in Ellsworth. He was honest and outspoken, 
and while serving on the city Committee of 
Finance was nicknamed "the watchdog of the 
treasury." He died about three years ago, 
and was buried with Masonic honors. Judge 
John Redman delivering the funeral oration. 
His wife, who was formerly Miss Emma 
Eppes, of Ellsworth, was a descendant of Colo- 
nel David Green, who is thought to have 
been a relation of General Nathaniel Greene. 
There is a family tradition that an ancestor 
travelled, disguised as a woman, through the 
woods from Boston to Providence, to join 
Roger Williams, after that bold preacher had 
been banished from Salem. Mrs. Emma E. 
Brown died in 1888, aged fifty-four years. 
She had reared two children —Daniel E. and 
George L. 

Daniel E. Brown acquired the rudiments of 
his education in Ellsworth, entering the 
grammar school at the early age of eight 
years, the youngest pupil in that grade. He 
took the four years' course preparatory for col- 
lege in the Ellsworth High School, under 
Principal Dr. D. O. S, Lowell, and then took 
up the study of medicine with Dr. Walter M. 
Haines, of Ellsworth. He studied with Dr. 



Haines one summer, leaving him in Septem- 
ber, 1 883, to enter Hahnemann College in 
Philadelphia, where he took the three years' 
course, graduating in the class of 1886. Dr. 
Brown was the first lillsworth I'alls boy to 
enter a profession, and the receiving of his 
degree was the consummation of hopes cher- 
ished from youth. 

Thirty days after his graduation from 
Hahnemann he opened an office in I5rockton, 
where he has now been established some ten 
years. He is a member of the Medical Board 
and staff of the Brockton Hospital, with which 
he has been actively connected since its in- 
ception. When the question of a hospital in 
this city was mooted, he was elected to the 
Board of Trustees and the Building Conimit- 
tee; and he subsequently gave much time and 
attention to the completion of the institution. 
He is now on the Board of Trustees and the 
Executive Committee, besides being'one of the 
consulting physicians, and takes a personal 
pride in the hospital. The institution was 
dedicated March 14, 1896, six years to a day 
after the project was first broached. The de- 
velopment of the scheme was largely assisted 
by the press, that potent agent in human 
affairs, and the institution is now wholly out 
of debt. Dr. Brown has taken instruction at 
the post-graduate school in New York, and 
otherwise fitting for the specialty of surgery 
and diseases of women. He has devoted much 
time to study of these branches, but is not yet 
satisfied with his attainments. He is not an 
aspirant for political office, his chief ambition 
being in the lines of his profession. 

Dr. Brown was married in 1883 to a daugh- 
ter of A. V. Burnham, Esq., a well-known 
lawyer of Ellsworth, Me. The Doctor, is a 
member of the Massachusetts Homoeopathic 
Society, of the Knights of Pythias, the Odd 
Fellows, Masons, and the Brockton Commer- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S8' 



cial Club. Liberal in religious opinions and 
beliefs, he attends the Unitarian church. 




|iI.\Kl.i:S JONI':S SMITH, an es- 
teemed citizen of Pembroke, has now 
almost completed his seventy-first 
year, and yet is as hale and active as a much 
younger man. He was born in Bowdoinham, 
RIc., April 7, 1S26, a son of Allen and Deb- 
orah (Jones) Smith. 

His father, Allen Smith, was born and edu- 
cated in the town of Westminster, Mass. As 
a means of earning his livelihood he engaged 
in the pursuit of agriculture. During the 
War of 1812 he was connected with the mili- 
tary forces, but was in no action against the 
enemy, being kept busy drilling soldiers. 
Not very long after his term of service was 
ended he returned to Bowdoinham, where he 
remained a short time, and then went to 
Wilton, Me. A number of years later he re- 
moved from Wilton, Me., to South New- 
market, N.H., and there he passed the rest of 
his earthly life, which ended in his ninetieth 
year. His wife, a daughter of Charles Jones, 
of Pembroke, Mass., died in her ninetieth 
year. Their children vvere: Judith, Rachel 
11., Charles J., Eliza M., Jonathan B., 
Martha A., Harvey A., Joel, Caroline, Deb- 
orah J., Mehitabel. 

Charles Jones Smith was educated in the 
public schools of Wilton. When quite young 
he began to learn the nail -maker's trade in 
East Taunton, Mass. ; and the trade once ac- 
quired, he followed it for twenty years, work- 
ing in Taunton and Bridgewater. His physi- 
cal vigor failing from continuous indoor labor, 
he purchased the farm in Pembroke, on which 
he now makes his home, and here he has 
found health, recreation, and profit. Breath- 
ing the sweet air of the open fields, and exer- 



cising every muscle in the varied round of his 
farm duties, he has renewed his youth and 
strength, and carries lightly his seventy years. 
Last season he cut fifteen tons of hay, and 
put it in the barn with the help of one man 
only, whom he hired for si.\ days. 

Mr. Smith was united in marriage in 1852 
with Sarah V. Hicks, of Raynham, Mass., 
and by this union had the following children: 
Sarah M., Charles E., Sumner A., Lillian IC, 
and Mary L. Mrs. Sarah V. H. Smith died 
in 1865. 

Mr. Smith was again married in 1867, and 
by his second wife has three children — Fred 
S., Deborah J., and Jessie A. 




'r» lOSES B. COLMAN, a retired 
resident of Scituate, Plymouth 
County, Mass., was born in this 
town, January 31, 1839, son of Captain Moses 
R. and Polly (Cole) Colman. His parents 
also were natives of Scituate, where the Col- 
man family has long been established. 

The first of the name to settle here was the 
great-great-grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, Joseph Colman, who was in Scituate 
as early as 1638, and lived with his family on 
the west side of Colman's Hills, but removed, 
it is said, to Rhode Island about 1690, some 
of his daughters settling in Newport. His 
son Joseph, the ne.\t in this line, was the 
father of Joseph, third, known as Captain Jo- 
seph Colman, a master mariner, who made his 
home near Colman's Hills. He died about 
fifty years ago aged eighty-four. 

Moses R. Colman, son of Captain Josejih, 
was born in Scituate, Mass., December 22, 
1807. He was practically reared on ship- 
board, as he began going to sea with his 
father at the age of ten years. Becoming a 
ship-master, he followed the sea for fifty-five 



S82 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



years, and was in his sixty-sixtli year at the 
time of his death, which took place in Scitu- 
ate on March 5, 1872. He was the first Rep- 
resentative to the Massachusetts legislature 
from Scituate elected by the Republican 
party, and died during his term of service. 
He was a highly respected citizen, and a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. His 
wife, Polly Cole, was the mother of several 
children, of whom the survivors are: Moses 
B., the subject of this sketch; Mary M., wife 
of Edwin Bowditch, of Scituate; and Frank 
N., who resides in this town. 

Moses B. Colman was educated in the pub- 
lic and private schools of his native town, and 
when he had completed his course of study he 
went to sea with his father. He did not take 
kindly to sea life, however, and at the age of 
seventeen he began to learn the carpenter's 
trade. After serving as an apprentice three 
years in Scituate and one year in Boston, he 
was employed as a journeyman in the last- 
named city until 1866. He then returned to 
Scituate, and, forming a copartnership with 
Thomas O. Cole, under the firm name of 
Cole & Colman, was engaged as a contractor 
and builder for eleven years. Withdrawing 
from that firm, he was for some time em- 
ployed at his trade, and later entered into 
partnership with J. E. O. Prouty, under the 
firm name of Colman & Prouty, and was en- 
gaged in the grain business for four years, or 
until his retirement from active business pur- 
suits. 

On April S, 1866, Mr. Colman was united 
in marriage with Lucy Vinal. She is a 
daughter of Captain Henry F. Vinal, a native 
of Scituate, and a well-known mariner of his 
day. The Vinal family, which is of English 
descent, was first represented in Scituate by 
Mrs. Anna Vinal, a widow, and her three 
children — Martha, Stephen, and John — who 



came here in 1636. Captain William Vinal, 
the grandfather of Mrs. Colman, died in New 
Orleans while his ship was in that port. Mrs. 
Colman has one surviving sister, Sarah E., 
whose husband, Benjamin T. Turner, of this 
town, is a descendant of Humphrey Turner, an 
early settler of Scituate, who came to Massa- 
chusetts in 1628 from the County of Kent, 
England. Of three children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Colman, the only one living is William 
T. , a resident of Maiden, Mass. 

In politics Mr. Colman is a stanch Repub- 
lican, and for sixteen years he was Fire 
Warden of Scituate. For several years he has 
acted as local agent for the Quincy Mutual 
Fire Insurance Company of Quincy and the 
Dorchester Mutual Insurance Company of 
Dorchester. He is connected with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, and he and Mrs. Colman take 
an active interest in social matters in the 
town. 

ILLARD TORREY, Deputy Sheriff 
of Plymouth County through the 
length and breadth of which his 
official duties have caused him to be well 
known, resides on River Street, Norwell. He 
was born in South Scituate, now Norwell, 
Mass., September 25, 1833, a son of David 
and Vesta (Howard) Torrey. The immigrant 
progenitor of the family was Lieutenant James 
Torrey, who is said to have been in Scituate 
before 1640. 

George Torrey, father of David, was born 
on the old Torrey farm in Norwell, then South 
Scituate. It was he who erected the house 
that is still standing and in good repair, build- 
ing it from material that was brought from 
Providence, R.I., on wagons drawn by oxen. 
He was a ship-builder by trade. David, born 
in 1786, died in 1877, at over ninety years of 
age. He carried on the ship-building busi- 




lilOGRAl'lIlCAL REVIEW 



583 



ness for forty years in his yards at TiUIen's 
Landing. I'^igiit cliildrcn, six sons and two 
daughters, were the fruit of his union with 
Vesta Howard. 

When seventeen years of age Willard Torrey 
began to work at tlie shi|i-joiner"s trade here 
in Norwell, following it for about five years, 
and next went into a trunk-wood factory, where 
he was engaged for several years. He was ap- 
pointed a Deputy Sheriff in 1861, under James 
Bates, and still holds the position, having per- 
formed his duties in a way that has elicited 
the praise, not only oi the different sheriffs 
under whom he has served, but also of those 
having business with the courts. After the 
passage of the law regarding special sheriffs 
in 1880, Sheriff Harmon appointed Mr. Torrey 
to the office, which is next to that of High 
Sheriff, and, in the event of the hitter's death 
or inability to serve, his duties would devolve 
ujion Mr. Torrey until a new High Sheriff 
should be appointed. Mr. Torrey owns a 
good-sized farm in Norwell. Mr. Torrey's 
standing in the community is pcrhajis best 
shown in a portion of the following quotation 
from an article that appeared in the Ikockton 
Daily Enterprise : — 

"Mr. Torrey's official position has been so 
prominent that he has been frequently called 
upon to handle many large estates, and he is 
now caring for some large property interests 
all over the county. While he has never 
passed an examination for admittance to the 
bar, his advice is frequently sought by the 
residents in this vicinit)', wiio ha\e come to 
regard his business sagacity as unquestioned; 
and his personal popularity is due in a meas- 
ure to the courteous manner in which he gives 
advice. No poor person can pay him a copper 
for his services. Mr. Torrey's work in court 
brings him in contact with all classes of the 
community, and no one can claim that they 



have ever failed to receive courteous treatment 
at his hands; and many have been the favors 
which he has extended, where others would 
turn a deaf ear to the appeals of the unfortu- 
nates who are frequently called before the bar 
of justice. Deputy Sheriff Torrey has seen 
judges come and go. There is now no judge 
living who occupied the judicial bench at the 
time of his appointment. He has also seen 
the passing of some of the bright members of 
the Plymouth bar. There are now living but 
four members of the Plymouth bar who were 
practising when he was first appointed to 
office. " 

In 1855 Mr. Torrey married Martha R. 
Merritt, of South Scituate, a daughter of the 
late Francis and Clarissa Merritt, and has 
three children : Frank H., living in Melrose, 
Mass. ; Walter R., who studied law with 
Hosea Kingman, of Bridgewater, and is now 
a student at the law school of Boston Univer- 
sity; and Miss Mattie W. Torrey, residing at 
home, who is quite an elocutionist. There are 
two grandchildren: Miss Marion, daughter of 
Frank H. Torrey; and Master Wendell Torrey, 
son of Walter R. Mr. and Mrs. Torrey have 
resided at their present home since i860. On 
the fortieth anniversary of their wedding, De- 
cember 23, 1895, they received numerous 
handsome gifts from near and from far, and 
the heartfelt congratulations of many as- 
sembled friends, including numbers from the 
neighboring towns. 

In politics Mr. Torrey has always been a 
Republican, l-'or six years \'ice-president of 
the South Scituate Savings Bank, he has been 
a member of its Board of Trustees since its 
incorporation, and of its Board of Investment 
since 1S77. As receiver for the Scituate 
Savings Bank, he performed his duties in a 
very commendable manner. Mr. Torrey is a 
member of the Cohasset Masonic Lodge. He 



584 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



attends the Unitarian church, and is one of 
the Parish Committee. 




T. ESTES, in former years a 
well-linown merchant in Plymouth 
L^ \^_ ^ County, since 1889 living in retire- 
ment in the town of Hanover, was born in 
West Hanover, Mass., April 20, 1826, son of 
Robert and Experience (Studley) Pastes. 
Robert Estes was a blacksmith by trade, and 
his life was spent for the most part in Han- 
over, where he died in the eightieth year of 
his age, his wife living to be about seventy- 
eight. They were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, namely: Elizabeth, Robert, and Clarissa, 
all deceased; Nancy; Beulah, deceased; 
Rufus T. ; Warren; and George, deceased. 

Rufus T. , the second son, was educated in 
the Hanover public schools and at the acad- 
emy at Sandwich, Mass. At the age of 
twelve he began working at the shoemaker's 
trade, which he followed for a year. He was 
next employed in the store of Z. F. Brett, of 
Duxbury, after which he went to East Abing- 
ton to work for his brother Robert, and drove 
a pedler's cart through the country for about 
two years, and then entered his brother's dry- 
goods store as a clerk. Although but seven- 
teen years old at the time of his brother's 
death, he took full charge of the business for 
six months, at the end of which the store was 
sold to Samuel Plllis, with whom he continued 
as a clerk for four years, being then received 
into partnership. A year later Mr. Estes pur- 
chased the entire store, and took a partner, to 
whom, at the end of another year, he sold the 
business, which consisted of dry goods and 
furniture. The followirtg year he did a thriv- 
ing business at merchant tailoring, but sold 
out, and went to Jacksonville, P"la., where 
he held the position of clerk in the dry-goods 



store of his former employer and partner, 
Samuel Ellis. Returning to Massachusetts at 
the end of a year, he was employed as a dry- 
goods clerk for a like period in the town of 
Rockland, after which he embarked in that 
line of business on his own account, having 
as a partner E. W. Whiting, with whom, 
under the style of Estes & Whiting, he con- 
ducted a successful business for a quarter 
century, or up to 1887. When Mr. Estes 
finally retired he had been engaged in the dry- 
goods business for forty-five years, and during 
all that time had met with no reverses of any 
consequence. 

In 1847 Mr. Estes was united in marriage 
with Sarah J. Tribou, by whom he had a son, 
Alonzo C, but both the child and his mother 
are now deceased. For his second wife Mr. 
Estes married Margaret R. Binney, who bore 
him two children — one that died in infancy, 
and Emma J. His present wife was before 
marriage Laurencia C. Dwelley. Mr. Estes 
is a member of the John Cutter Masonic 
Lodge of Abington, also of the Baptist church 
of Rockland, which he served as Deacon and 
Treasurer many years. 




ENRY LYMAN BRYANT, a trusted 
and highly successful real estate 

^ ^ dealer of Brockton, Mass., was born 

here in 1836, a son of George W. and Lucy 
(Washburn) Bryant, and on his father's side 
is a connection of the late William Cullen 
Bryant. 

Stephen Bryant, an English immigrant who 
was in Plymouth, Mass., it is said, as early 
as 1632, was the ancestor of the Bryants in 
I^ridgewater. His wife, Abigail Shaw, 
daughter of John Shaw, who came from Eng- 
land, bore him six children. Stephen, Jr., 
their second son, was also the father of six 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



585 



children, the fifth of whom, named Ichabod, 
born July 5, 1699, in Middleboro, Mass., 
removed to North Bridgewater, then the North 
Parish of Bridgewater. He married Ruth 
Staples, and had ten cliildrcn. He died No- 
vember 22, 1759, and his widow died on 
March 27, 1777. Philip Bryant, their eldest- 
born, was the ancestor of the distinguished 
poet. Job. their fourth child, married Mary 
Turner, May 3, 1764, and had ten children, 
Oliver being the sixth. He was married on 
May 6, 1804, to Nabby, daughter of Timothy 
Ames, and their union was blessed by the 
birth of nine children. George Washington, 
the father of Henry L. , was the fourth child. 
He was born Augu.st 4, 18 10, and became one 
of the founders of the town of Brockton, where 
he engaged in the marble business. He was 
a trial justice of the ]5olice court and I'lym- 
outh County. His wife, I.uey, is a daughter 
of Bildad Washburn, of Kingston, Mass. She 
is the mother of two sons and a daughter, 
namely: George Edward; Henry Lyman; and 
Abby Lane, who married l-'rederick Hanson, 
March i. 1S57, and is now deceased. Mrs. 
Bryant is now living at the advanced age of 
ninety-one years. 

Henry Lyman, the second son, received a 
common-school education. He began his 
business career at eighteen years of age, in 
company with his brother, George Edward, 
under the style of G. K. & H. L. Bryant, and 
started the first clothing house in the town, 
conducting it for si.xteen years. Since then 
Henry L. Bryant has engaged in the real es- 
tate and mortgage business. He is the corre- 
spondent of sixty-one banks, and his business 
transactions for the year 1895 amounted to 
one million, two hundred thousand dollars. 
Mr. Bryant erected the second brick block in 
l?rockton, and has built five business blocks. 
He owns twenty stores, and is the second 



largest tax-payer in Brockton, having risen to 
this position by his own unaided efforts. 
-Sagacious and prudent, he has handled mill- 
ions of other peo]5lc's money, and has always 
been successful in his transactions. Mr. 
Bryant was for a time a member of the Com- 
mercial Club. He is an attendant of the 
Unity (Unitarian) Church. 



OHN B. D.IMUN, a successful farmer 
and owner of the Centennial Hotel at 
North Scituate Beach, was born in 
Scituate, July 11, 1835, son of John and Al- 
mira (White) Damon. His education, which 
was begun in the common schools of his native 
town, was completed in Brockton, Mass. In 
his youth he was occupied in farming, but at 
the age of twenty he engaged in lobster fish- 
ing, which he continu.ed successfully for seven 
years, when he again turned his attention to 
agricultural pursuits. For a number of years 
he was engaged exclusively in tilling the soil 
of a good farm in this town, during which 
time he demonstrateil liis jiractical knowl- 
edge of agriculture, and he derived good finan- 
cial returns for his labor. Early in the 
seventies he erected the Centennial Hotel at 
North Scituate Beach, and for fifteen years he 
gave his personal attention to its manage- 
ment. He is still the owner of the property, 
which he has improved, and he has done much 
to increase the attractiveness of the locality. 
On May 5, 1867, Mr. Damon was united in 
marriage to Ella A. Grover, a native of South 
Hingham, Mass., and a daughter of A. H. and 
Eunice K. (Stoddard) Grover. Her father 
was a native of Maine, and her mother of 
South Hingham, Mass. Of the children born 
to Mrs. Damon's jiarents, six are living, 
namely: ICunice A., now Mrs. Charles H. 
Poole, of Rockland, Mass. ; George A. 



SS6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Grover, of Sonierville, Mass. ; Ella A., who 
is now Mrs. Damon; Edward E., a resident of 
Holbrook, Mass. ; Mary, who lives in Rock- 
land ; and Arthur B. Grover, of Somerville. 
Mr. and Mrs. Damon have two children, 
namely: Almira W., wife of George S. Bailey, 
of North Scituate, Mass. ; and John, who re- 
sides at Scituate Beach. 

In politics Mr. Damon votes independently, 
supporting those candidates whom he considers 
the best qualified to hold office, and he sup- 
ports all practical measures calculated to ben- 
efit the community. He is widely known in 
this locality as a prosperous farmer, a success- 
ful hotel proprietor, and a sterling citizen. 
He is connected by membership with Satuit 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 




JDVVARD HOGAN, while at no time a 
resident of Plymouth County, may be 
considered as entitled, through his 
children, to representation in this work. He 
was born in Fishmoyne County, Tipperary, 
Ireland, in 1792. Despite almost insur- 
mountable difficulties, he obtained a good edu- 
cation, and was conversant with the Greek 
and Eatin languages. He owned a good farm, 
which he took pleasure in cultivating. In the 
politics of his day he was an ardent supporter 
of Daniel O'Connell. Of a religious disposi- 
tion he took pleasure in teaching Sunday- 
school. He married Bridget, daughter of 
Lawrence O'Brien, of Borisvleigh, Tipperary 
County. By this marriage there were ten 
children, eight of whom grew to maturity. 
These were: Sarah, Lawrence, Edward, 
Thomas, Mrs. Burke, Mrs. Littleton, Mrs. 
Condon, and Mrs. Leyden. 

Sarah Hogan, the sixth child, who was born 
in Tipperary, came with her widowed mother 
to this country in 1852. While the substan- 



tial part of her education was acquired in her 
native country, she had the further advantage 
of pursuing a course of study with Squire 
Bird in Fo.xboro, Mass., and in 1859 she was 
united in marriage with James Hayes. Her 
brother Lawrence, when but seventeen years 
old, enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Cav- 
alry, and served in the Civil War. On one 
occasion, while carrying a dispatch to General 
Butler on the battlefield, he received a wound 
that was the probable cause of his death in 
1 88 1. He was an Alderman of Elmira, N. Y., 
where he resided in the latter part of his life. 
Edward Hogan, who served three years under 
General Burnside, died in 1892. Thomas, 
who has occupied several positions of trust in 
New York State, is now living in Brockton. 
The four sisters of Mrs. Hayes are also liv- 
ing. The father died in 1849, ^^^ the age of 
fifty-seven. The mother passed away in 
March, 1891, nearly one hundred years old. 
Her father and mother lived to the ages of 
ninety-nine and one hundred and three years 
respectively. Three of her cousins on the 
maternal side, two lawyers and a teacher, 
fought under Napoleon. 




RCHIBALD DAKIN, druggist of 
Brockton, is a worthy representative 
of two old and respected families, 
the Dakyns and Warwicks. He was born in 
Digby, Nova Scotia, in 1861, and is a son of 
Edward Dakin. He traces his lineage on the 
paternal side to the days of Queen Elizabeth, 
when the name was spelled Dakyns. 

The family coat-of-arms perpetuates the 
exploit of a Dakyn, governor of a castle in 
Cheshire, who, while at sea, was attacked by 
pirates, and cut the grappling ropes with an 
axe. This valorous gentleman had a family 
of nine children. Daniel Dakin, grandfather 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



587 



of the subject of this sketch, was probably a 
native of Nova Scotia; and he was engaged in 
farming there during his mature manhood. 
He married a daughter of Mr. Warwick, a 
gentleman of character and ability, who was 
for some time in business in New York City, 
and was later a Judge in Digby. Mr. and 
Mrs. Daniel Dakin had a family of eight boys 
anti two girls. 

Their son Edward was for some time en- 
gaged in ship-building with his brothers at 
Digby. He followed the sea also, and was 
master of a vessel. He married a daughter 
of Dr. W. L. Bent, of Digby. Four children 
were born to this couple, three of whom are 
living, Archibald being the youngest. While 
in Venezuela Edward Dakin was attacked by 
yellow fever, and died at the age of forty-four. 

Archibald Dakin, having acquired his edu- 
cation in the common schools and the academy 
of Digby, was employed as clerk in A. J. 
McCallum's drug store in his native town for 
a year; was ne.xt with his brother, a druggist, 
in Wareham ; and was then in East Boston in 
the same business for a while. In 1879 he 
formed a partnership with Dr. Robinson, 
under the firm name of A. Dakin & Co., and 
opened a drug store in Wareham. Dr. Robin- 
son retired at the end of a year, and Mr. 
Dakin managed a successful business alone for 
seven or eight years, selling his establishment 
at the end of that time on account of ill 
health. In the mean time, in 1882, he started 
a branch store at Onset; and the ne.\t year he 
began to publish Tlic Seaside Ripple, a semi- 
monthly paper, the circulation of which 
r.qiidly increased, until it amounted to twelve 
luindied. At the enil of a year he sold this 
pa[)cr to H. H. Sylvester, who is now on the 
editorial staff of the New York World. After 
disposing of his Wareham business, Mr. Dakin 
spent two years in recuperating, his chief 



trouble being low nervous tone; and in Septem- 
ber, i8gi, he opened his present establishment 
in Brockton. He has a noat and completely 
furni.shed store, and a good line of trade. 

Mr. Dakin takes an active interest in the 
politics of the day as a member of the People's 
party. In 1895 he was the Populist candidate 
for Representative to the State legislature, 
and made a gain of thirty-three votes. He is 
a vestryman of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of 
Brockton. 



(^Thoi 



HOMAS BARSTOW, a prominent con- 
^1 tractor and builder of Norwell, is a na- 
tive of this town, born April 26, 1850, 
son of Thomas Barstow and Amelia B. 
(Hathaway) Greene. He was named Thomas 
Barstow after his father: and in 1857, at the 
request of his grandmother, his surname 
Greene was dropped, and his name legally 
changed to Thomas Barstow. His parents 
had two other children: Albert S. Greene, 
who is now employed in the Charlestown 
Navy Yard, and resides in Somerville, Mass.; 
and Lydia B. , who resides with her brother on 
the old homestead. 

Thomas Barstow, the direct subject of this 
sketch, grew to manhood on the farm that was 
settled by his great-grandfather, who also bore 
the Christian name of Thomas, and who was 
prominently connected with the ship-building 
industry on North River during the time of 
its greatest prosperity. After attending the 
district school, he took a supplementary course 
of study at Hanover Academy. When nine- 
teen years old, he began to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade with James Ford, of Pembroke, 
with whom he remained three years. Since 
then he has been in business for himself as a 
contractor and builder, and has been very suc- 
cessful. He owns about forty acres of the 
homestead farm, which he carries on. 



S88 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



In 1892 Mr. Barstow was elected on the 
Republican ticket to the State legislature. 
He has served the town as Selectman since 
1889, having been Chairman of the Board 
during the past seven years. He has also held 
the offices of Assessor and Overseer of the 
Poor, each for several years. He is a member 
of North River Lodge, No. 167, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, of Hanover, in which 
he is a Past Grand; and of PhaMiix Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M., of Hanover, in which he is 
a Past Master. He is also a member of Pil- 
grim Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and of 
Old Colony Commandery, Knights Templars, 
of Abington, Mass. 



DWIN L. MAGLATHLIN, of King- 
ston, who owns and operates a tack 
manufactory at Indian Pond, was 
born in Kingston, March 28, 1849, son of 
Peter VV. and Marcia (Bradford) Maglathlin. 
His father was a native of Kingston, and his 
mother of Maine. The family, which is of 
Scotch origin descends in a direct line from 
its founder in America, John Maglathlin, and a 
more extended account of its ancestry may be 
found in the sketch of Philemon W. Maglath- 
lin, which appears elsewhere in this work. 

Itdwin L. Maglathlin was reared and edu- 
cated in Kingston, and resided upon his 
father's farm until he was sixteen years old. 
He then went to sea as a fisherman, making 
one or more voyages to the Grand Banks. At 
the age of twenty he gave up the sea, and be- 
came a locomotive fireman on the Old Colony 
Railway. After serving in that capacity for 
some years, he was appointed an engineer, 
and continued in the company's employ for 
twelve years, during which time he was in 
charge of locomotives upon all branches of the 
road. In 1885 he resigned his position, and 



entered into partnership with his brother, 
Horace B. , the tack manufacturer of Silver 
Lake. The firm of Maglathlin Brothers con- 
tinued in business for nine years, when it was 
dissolved, and our subject was for a time en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Re-embarking 
in business, he was engaged in manufacturing 
tacks in Kingston village, where he continued 
for a few months, or until May i, 1894, when 
he purchased his present plant at Indian Pond. 
He has water power sufficient to run his fac- 
tory at all seasons of the year, and, having a 
first-class equipment, he produces a large out- 
put annually, including shoe tacks of every 
variety. Mr. Maglathlin wedded Elmira 
Simmons, daughter of Nahum Simmons, late 
of Kingston. He is a self-made man, as he 
was forced to make his way in life solely by 
his own exertions; and his present business 
standing is a sufficient guarantee of his future 
prosperity. Politically, he supports the Re- 
publican party. 



Y^TENRY T. SMITH, a representative 
r^H citizen of Rockland, where he holds 

-1-^ Vi^ , the office of Selectman, was born in 

Candia, N.H., April 6, 1856, son of French 
and Laura A. (Ouimby) Smith. His father, 
who was born in Canada, was engaged during 
a great part of his life in farming in New 
Hampshire. His mother died at the age of 
fifty. She gave birth to five children — 
Augustus F., Henry T., Nettie, Clara A., and 
Alice I. 

Henry T. Smith is a high-school graduate. 
He remained in his native State until twenty 
years old, spending a part of the time in farm 
work, which developed his muscles and 
strengthened his body generally. Then, feel- 
ing no inclination to continue a farmer's life, 
he went to work in a shoe shop in Belfast, Me. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



589 



He was cmiiloycd in Belfast for about five 
years, and then came to Rockland, Mass., 
where he made shoes for a period of fifteen 
years. He has been engaged in the baking 
business under the firm name of II. T. Smith 
& Co. since 1896. During his residence in 
Rockland he has established a reputation for 
honesty and integrity, and won the sincere 
respect of his townsmen. 

On August 10, 1878, Mr. Smith was united 
in marriage with Miss Emma Howard, of Bel- 
fast. Two children have blessed the union — 
Orininda and Bertha. In [xilitics \It. Smith 
favors the Democratic side, but believes that 
it is best sometimes to disregard party lines. 
He has served the town in the capacity of 
Overseer of the Poor, Assessor, and Select- 
man, and he is a member of Standish Lodge, 
No. 177, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
and of the New England Order of Protection. 
He is also a member of the Rockland Fire 
Department. 



/STTo 



i:ORGE HERBERT THOMAS, of 
\ p I Brant Rock, who is successfully en- 
gaged in the varied occupations of a 
farmer, general teamster, and dealer in ice, 
wood, milk, hay, and grain, is a worthy rep- 
resentative of one of the oldest families of 
Marshfield, Mass., his native town. He was 
born March 10, 1852, son of Luther and Abi- 
gail (Sampson) Thomas. 

There were three early settlers in Marsh- 
field bearing the surname Thomas. The first 
of these was John, an orphan lad, who came 
in the "Hopewell" in 1635. He was under 
the care of Governor Edward Winslow for a 
time, and eventually became his .steward at 
Careswell. The others were William and his 
son Nathaniel, who came with the son's wife 
and child in 1637. John Thomas married in 
1648, Sarah Pitney; and both he and Na- 



thaniel Thomas have been succeeded by a 
numerous posterity, including many useful 
and esteemed citizens, not a few of whom, at- 
taining distinction in various fields of effort, 
have filled positions of influence and honor. 

Samuel Thomas, son of John and Sarah, 
born in 1655, married Mercy Ford, and was 
the father of John, second, born in 1684, Na- 
than, and others. Nathan Thomas married 
successively Alice Baker, Abiah Snow, and 
Sarah Bartlett. These and other early de- 
scendants of John Thomas, first, are men- 
tioned in Mr. William T. Davis's "Ancient 
Landmarks of Plymouth," a book of reference 
invaluable to the student of Pilgrim family 
history. 

Nathan Thomas was a tanner, and lived in 
Marshfiekl. His son William, who suc- 
ceeded to the ownership of his homestead, was 
probably the William Thomas prominent in 
Marshfield in pre-Revolutionary times, hold- 
ing a Captain's commission from Governor 
Hutchinson. Captain William Thomas was 
the great-grandfather of George IL, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. His children were: 
Luther, Sr. , Jesse, Mary, and Sarah. Luther 
Thomas, Sr., who was born January 25, 1757, 
and died October 24, 1831, was twice mar- 
ried. By his first \Vife, Rebecca Dinglcy, he 
had three children, namely: Marcia Abiah, 
author of "i\Iemorials of Marshfield," who 
was born July 30, iSoo, and died September 
14, 1879; William Foster, born January 25, 
1802, died July 26, 1883; Sarah, born Febru- 
ary 20, 1807, died October 14, 1896. By his 
second wife, Abigail Hewitt, he had one son, 
Luther, who was born November 30, iSi i. 

The younger Luther Thomas married Abi- 
gail, daughter of Andrew and Lydia (Soule) 
Sampson. Her father was of the fifth genera- 
tion in direct line from Henry Sampson, one 
of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. Mr. and Mrs. 



59° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Luther Thomas had six children: Anne, who 
was born June 19, 1837, and died February 
23, 1883; Henry, born February 7, 1839, 
now living in California; Alice Jane, born 
December 25, 1844, who died in October, 
1889; Abbie Frances, born May 25, 1848, 
who died October 27, 1896; George Herbert, 
whose birth-date is mentioned above; Emily 
Augusta, who was born January i, 1857, and 
died March 5, i860. Luther Thomas during 
his active life was engaged in farming in 
Marshfield. He died October 19, 1896, aged 
nearly eighty-five years. His wife, Mrs. 
Abigail Sampson Thomas, died June 21, 
1885, at the age of seventy-three. 

Miss Marcia A. Thomas, half-sister of Mr. 
Luther Thomas, will long be held in honored, 
grateful remembrance as the local antiquary 
and writer, and a public benefactor. It would 
be utterly impossible now to copy from some of 
the oldest stones in the ancient burial-ground 
the inscriptions reverently and happily pre- 
served in her little volume of "Memorials," 
published in 1854, which she modestly de- 
clined to dignify with the title of history. 
The proceeds of the book, with two or three 
individual subscriptions, were placed at inter- 
est till a sufficient fund had accumulated to 
erect in that quiet resting-place a monument 
to the memory of the early settlers of Green 
Harbor. 

George H., the younger of the two sons of 
Luther Thomas, was an attendant of the com- 
mon schools until he was about sixteen years 
old. He remained with his parents six years 
after he became of age, then started out for 
himself, settling at Brant Rock, where he 
began in a small way, but now has a thriving 
business as a result of sagacious and persever- 
ing energy. He is well known in the village 
of Brant Rock and vicinity as a man of sterl- 
ing integrity. In politics he is a Republican. 



On March 27, 1879, Mr. Thomas married 
Ellen M. Peterson, a native of Duxbury, 
Mass., and daughter of the late Jabez Peter- 
son, of that place. Her mother's maiden 
name was Phoebe Shurtleff. Mr. and Mrs. 
Thomas have two daughters — Edith F. and 
May. 

4^ m^¥ 

OSHUA DEAN, dealer in lumber, 
grain, and coal, and proprietor of the 
Dean Foundry at East Bridgewater, 
ranks among the foremost business men of this 
locality, as well as the oldest, having been in 
business since 1868. He was born in Easton, 
Mass., March 25, 1830, a son of William and 
Keziah (Britton) Dean. , The Deans, who are 
of English origin, settled first in Raynham, 
Bristol County, Mass. William Dean, a na- 
tive of the old Bay State and a successful 
farmer, died in 1844. His wife, also a native 
of Massachusetts, survived him nearly forty 
years, passing away in 11883. 

Joshua Dean, direct subject of this sketch, 
was reared and educated in Easton, Mass. 
His father dying when he was fourteen years 
old, he was early thrown upon his own re- 
sources, and received but a limited education. 
At the age of seventeen he began to learn the 
moulder's trade at North Chelmsford, Mass., 
and worked there ten years in the employ of 
two firms. He was subsequently for six years 
foreman for William E. Bird, proprietor of a 
foundry in West Bridgewater; and in 1868, 
forming a partnership Vvith Cephas Perry, he 
purchased a foundry it East Bridgewater. 
This was successfully managed for several 
years by the firm of Dean & Perry, and was 
finally destroyed by fire. Some time after 
that Mr. Dean became sole proprietor, and 
under his supervision new shops were built, 
to which he subsequently made important addi- 
tions. His business prospered and increased 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S9» 



from year to year, and in 1S95 he purchased 
wliat is now known as the Brockton Brass and 
Iron ]'"oundry, of wliich lie is sole proprietor. 
His success in business has been achieved by 
his own unaided efforts. 

Mr. Dean married Kvaline Cragin, a native 
of Peterboro, N.H., and of the children born 
to tiiem two are living: Jennie, wife of 
Thomas IT. Perkins; and Carrie K., wife of 
E. Samuel Ryder. 

Mr. Dean is a Republican politically. He 
represented the district in the State legislat- 
ure in 1880, and served for a number of terms 
as Selectman of East Bridgewater. He is 
prominent in Masonry, being a charter mem- 
ber of Satucket Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at 
East Bridgewater, and is identified with the 
lodge of Knights Templars at Abington. His 
home is one of the most beautiful in this sec- 
tion of the county. Mr. Dean, though not a 
church member, is generous in his support of 
religious enterprises. He and his wife take 
part in all the prominent social events of the 
vicinity. 



r?"; 



EPIIAS WASHBURN, a prosperous 



farmer of Halifax, Mass., is a native 
^ ^ ^ of Plymouth County, born in the 
town of ]?ridgevvater, January 18, 1S32, a son 
of Cephas and Mercy (Paris) Washburn. His 
father, Cephas Washburn, Sr., was twice mar- 
ried. By his first wife, formerly a Miss Paris, 
he had three children: Martin L. , living in 
Bridgewater; Albion K , an inventor, resid- 
ing in Bridgewater; and Cephas. His second 
marriage was with Sallie Paris, and a son and 
daughter were born of this union, namely: 
Frank, who died in i860; and Harriet M.. the 
wife of Simeon F. Jordan, of Bridgewater. 

When five years old, Cephas, the youngest 
son by the first wife, came to Halifax, where 
he lived until twenty-five years of age, when 



he went on a fishing expedition one season. 
Following that he was engaged in shoemaking 
until 1861, when he enli.sted at the first call 
for troops from President Lincoln. After 
three months' service he returned home, and 
was chosen Captain in the militia. He then 
joined Company A, of the Third Massachu- 
setts Infantry, as First Lieutenant, this being 
one of the oldest military organizations in the 
United States, and was mustered into service 
at Fortress Monroe, Va. He was stationed 
for some time at Fortress Monroe and at 
Hampton, and is credited with bringing in the 
first "contraband of war," as slaves captured 
by the Union forces were then termed. On 
March 4, 1863, Mr. Washburn was discharged 
at Carrollton, La., on account of disability. 
Returning to Massachusetts, he took up his 
residence in Plympton, where he rcmaineil six 
years, holding the position of station agent 
and postmaster. He then went to Kingston, 
and a year later to Stoughton, where he was sta- 
tion agent. From Stoughton he came to Hali- 
fax, and settled on the old homestead, where he 
has since resided. He owns about two hun- 
dred and twenty-five acres of land, and is profit- 
ably engaged in general farming and lumber- 
ing, also in the cultivation of cranberries. 

In 1856 Mr. Washburn married Miss 
Amanda McLaughlin, who died leaving him 
witli one daughter, Abbie W., who lived to be 
twenty-two years of age. He married for his 
second wife, Mrs. Olive French, the widow of 
Timothy French, and a sister of his first wife. 
The only child by this union died in infancy; 
and Mrs. Washburn has also passed away. In 
1865 Mr. Washburn, who has always been a 
stanch Republican, was elected to the State 
legislature. He is a member of the Masonic 
order; also of Justin Dimmick Post, No. 124, 
Grand Army of the Republic, of East Bridge- 
water. 



592 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



-OHN H, EAMES, of Marshfield, is a 
veteran of the late war, one of the few 
Union men alive to-day who have 
suffered in Rebel prisons. He was born in 
Medford, Mass., December i6, 1834, a son of 
John and Louisa (Norwood) Eames. 

The Eames family is of English origin. 
Among the early settlers of this name men- 
tioned by genealogists are: Robert, of Charles- 
town, 1651, who removed to Woburn ; Thomas, 
of Dedham, who had a son John, born in 
1642; Anthony, of Hingham, in 1636, who 
removed to Marshfield, and served as a Deputy 
to the General Court in 1654, and later for a 
number of years; Mark, thought to have been 
his son. Deputy in 1662 and later, and Se- 
lectman 1667-73. A Jonathan Eames, of 
Marshfield, is spoken of as probably son of 
Mark and grandson of Anthony Eames. John 
Eames, said to have been one of tlie descend- 
ants of Jonathan, settled in Medford, Mass., 
and in that town a later John Eames, grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, and John 
Eames, Jr., his father, were born. The John 
last named, who was a contractor and builder, 
was a lifelong resident of Medford. He 
died in 1849. His wife, a native of Lynn- 
field, Mass., died in 1875. They were the 
parents of eight children, John H. being the 
oldest. 

John H. Eames acquired his education in 
Medford, finishing his studies in the high 
school. He was nearly fifteen years of age 
when his father died, "and was obliged at that 
time to leave school and go to work. Obtain- 
ing employment in a ship yard in Medford, he 
worked there some three years, and then began 
to learn the carpenter's trade, serving as an 
apprentice until he was twenty-one. He sub- 
sequently worked as a journeyman, making- a 
specialty of stair-building, one of the best 
paying branches of the trade, and was em- 



ployed by some of the leading contractors of 
Boston. 

At the time of President Lincoln's first call 
for seventy-five thousand three months' men, 
Mr. Eames responded, enlisting in April, 
1 86 1, in Company E, Fifth Massachusetts 
Volunteer Infantry. He was in the disastrous 
battle of the first Bull Run, and after that was 
on duty in Washington until his term expired. 
He re-enlisted August 14, 1862, and was 
mustered as a Sergeant into Company C, 
Thirty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- 
try, which later became a part of the Fifth 
Corps, Army of the Potomac, General G. K. 
Warren commanding. During his second 
term of service Mr. Eames took part in many 
engagements, in which the Union soldiers 
demonstrated their ability to fight, including 
the battle of the Wilderness, and for forty-two 
days thereafter was more or less under fire. 
At the battle of the Weldon Railroad, August 
19, 1864, he was captured with his entire com- 
pany by the Confederates; and he was incar- 
cerated successively in Libby Prison, Belle 
Isle, and Salisbury Prison, North Carolina, 
spending seven months in all in durance. 
The horrors of these charnel houses have been 
painted so often that it is superfluous to speak 
of them. Suffice it to say that, while he was 
in Salisbury, over twelve thousand Union 
prisoners died. He was finally exchanged, 
and was honorably discharged as a First Lieu- 
tenant in June, 1865. 

Returning to Medford broken in mind and 
body, he was a confirmed invalid for four 
years. In 1869 he was engaged as clerk in 
the navy yard at Charlestown, and in 1870 he 
was appointed, under President Grant, Post- 
master of Medford. He filled the office fifteen 
consecutive years, resigning on account of 
failing health in 1885. In 1886 he moved to 
the pretty village of Marshfield Hills, where 



BIOGRAI'llICAL REVIEW 



593 



he has since resitlcd, aiul he is now one of the 
well-known and popular citizens of this place. 
Mr. Eames was married in 1866 to S. Au- 
gusta George, a native of Marshfield, who 
died in iSgo. She bore him four chililren, 
two of whom are living — • Harry C. and John. 
In jjolitics I\Ir. Karnes is a Republican. Me 
was one year Commander of S. C. Lawrence 
Post, No. 66, Grand Army of the Republic, of 
Medford, and six years, from January, 1887, 
until January, 1893, Commander of David 
Church Post, No. 189, of Marshfield. He is a 
member of Mount Hermon Lodge of Masons, 
of Mystic Royal Arch Chapter; also of the 
Knights of Honor, the Legion of Honor, and 
other organizations in Medford. Mr. Eames 
has never aspired to public office. 




i 



lIIARLES THOMAS LEAVITT, an 
ice dealer and successful farmer of 
Hingham, Mass., was born in this 
town, July 2 1, 1857, his parents being Thomas 
J. and Mary V. (Stoddard) Leavitt. 

The progenitor of this branch of the Leavitt 
family in America was John, who settled in 
Hingham about the year 1634, and who is sup- 
posed to have been a Scotchman and runaway 
apjirentice. His son Israel was the father of 
John, second, and grandfather of John, third, 
whose son Jacob was the great-great-grand- 
father of Charles Thomas, the special subject 
of this sketch. Jacob Leavitt was born in 
Hingham, and became an energetic and pros- 
perous farmer. After he was eighty years old 
he shingled his house, doing all the work him- 
self. John Leavitt, son of Jacob, born in 
Hingham, was a pump and block maker by 
trade. He built what is known as the Leavitt 
shingle-mill, which was originally designed 
as a grist-mill, but proved a failure for this 
purpose, the water power being insufficient. 



He married Sally Cushing, and had four chil- 
dren — John, Thomas, Sally, and Mary. 

John, the eldest, mentioned above as the 
third John Leavitt, whose birth occurred in 
Hingham on July 3, 1799, ^^'^^ a man of more 
than ordinary natural ability. After receiving 
his mental training in the public schools, he 
learned the trade of a pump and block maker, 
and soon after started in business for himself 
in the mill which his father had built for a 
grist-mill. After a time he added the manu- 
facture of box lumber and bucket heading, 
continuing in the business until his death in 
August, 1877. He was for many years an 
Overseer of the Poor, but, though urged to ac- 
cept the nomination for other town offices, 
always refused to be a candidate. In politics 
he was a Whig. He married Miss l-^valina, 
daughter of Benjamin Jones, of Hingham. 
They had six children, namely: Thomas J.; 
Sarah, deceased; Benjamin, who died when 
two years old; Evalina; Mary; and John, de- 
ceased. John and Evalina (Jones) Leavitt 
were attendants of the old Unitarian church. 

Thomas J. Leavitt was born in Hingham on 
May 25, 1829. After acquiring a common- 
school education, he started to learn the trade 
of a harness-maker, but gave u|) that occupa- 
tion at the end of two years, and went to work 
in his father's shingle-mill, of which he be- 
came the owner at his father's death. He also 
manufactured ship chandlery ware, such as 
pumps and log reels. Up to 1892, when he 
retired from active pursuits, he conducted a 
successful business. His marriage with Miss 
Mary V. Stoddard, daughter of Captain 
Charles Stoddard, of Hingham, was solem- 
nized March 21, 1852. A son, and a daughter, 
Lilla M., were the fruit of their union; but 
only the son, Charles Thomas, now survives. 

Charles Thomas Leavitt was educated in 
the public schools of Hingham. His first em- 



594 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ployment was with his father in the mill, 
where he worked three years, and after that he 
worked about three years in the rope walk. 
In the summer of 1883 he embarked in the ice 
business, beginning with one horse and a 
single wagon, doing all the work himself. 
He now runs three double teams and one 
single team, employs from three to four men, 
and cuts about three thousand tons of ice 
yearly. He owns a farm which yields about 
twenty tons of hay annually, grass being the 
principal crop. He is a member of the Dem- 
ocratic Town Committee, and has been on 
the Board of Engineers of the fire department 
since May i, 1896. 

On February 12, 18S0, Mr. Leavitt was 
united in marriage with Miss Julia L., daugh- 
ter of Edward S. Gushing, of Hingham. 
They have two children — Lilla C. and Ethel 
May. Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt are attendants of 
the Unitarian church. 



-rn\OBERT SYLVESTER, one of Han- 
I I^Y^ over's most aged and esteemed citi- 
J-^ V_^ zens, was born on October ig, 1805, 
in the house which is still his home. His 
parents, Robert and Lucy (Bailey) Sylvester, 
had six children — Lucy, Rebecca, Michael 
(deceased), Robert (who died in infancy), 
Robert, and Sarah. The father was a farmer 
throughout his active life, and died when but 
thirty-seven years old. 

Robert Sylvester, the youngest son, the 
special subject of this brief biography, re- 
ceived a district and private school education. 
Up to seventeen years of age he lived with his 
parents on the homestead farm, then went to 
lioston, and served a four years' apprentice- 
ship at carpentry, which he subsequently fol- 
lowed in that city for about three years, going 
from there to Plymouth, where he spent 



another year engaged at his trade. Me then 
returned to his parental home, and for many 
years was employed in both farming and car- 
pentering. He owns about two hundred acres 
here, a portion of which is comprised in the 
old liomestead farm, where his great-grand- 
father, Michael Sylvester, first located. 

On November 28, 1828, when twenty-three 
years of age, Mr. Sylvester married Miss 
Sarah Burgess, of Boston, who was a daughter 
of Josiah and Sarah (Whitney) Burgess, of 
Harvard. By this union he had the following 
children: Loammi B., died September 6, 
1862; Susanna F., died October 16, 1893; 
Belcher, who died when very young; Eliza- 
beth B. ; Sarah E. ; Julietta; and Robert. 
Susanna Sylvester married William T. Lap- 
ham, of Scituate. Elizabeth B. married 
Israel H. Macomber, a farmer, living at 
Marshfield Hills. Sarah E. is the wife of 
George H. Allen, who lives in Boston, where 
he is now employed in a bank, and was for- 
merly for many years Superintendent of 
Lamps. Juliet married Frank A. Glapp, and 
their home is in Wakefield. Robert Sylves- 
ter, Jr., married Mary B. Turner, and lives in 
Hanover, where he has taken his father's 
place, and carries on the farm. Loammi B. 
Sylvester married Emmeline A. Bartlett, and 
was engaged in the shoe business until he went 
to the war as a member of Gompany G, Eigh- 
teenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers. 
His death in September 6, 1862, was the re- 
sult of wounds received in battle. Mrs. Sarah 
Burgess Sylvester died November 9, 1855; 
and Mr. Sylvester's second wife, formerly 
Miss Sarah W. Packard, of Marshfield, whom 
he married in 1859, died August 12, 18S5, 

Mr. Sylvester has been a supporter of the 
Republican party ever since its formation. 
To show one's loyalty at the polls a half cen- 
tury ago and more was not the easy task of to- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



595 



clay. When William Homy Harrison was up 
for President, Mr. Sylvester journeyed forty 
miles to cast his vote. He is of the orthodo.x 
faith in religion, and is a member of the Con- 



gregational church. 



«♦ ■»» 




is 



slCLl'X; 15. IIADLICY, who has been 
identified with the mercantile and 
industrial interests of the town of 
Marion, Plymouth County, for many years, 
was born August 8, ^848, at Rochester, now 
Marion. His father,! Andrew J. Haclley, was 
formerly a well-known merchant of this town. 
He was twice married, his first wife (mother 
of our subject) being Sarah E. Cobb, daughter 
of the Rev. Oliver Cobb, a Congregationalist 
minister, who preached for years in Marion, 
in which place he died. By her he had two 
children. His second wife, Louisa Brett, 
who was a daughter of the Rev. Pliny Brett, a 
Methodist minister, bore him five children. 
He and his second wife are still living. 

Peleg B. Hadlcy acquired the rudiments of 
his education in the Marion schools, after 
which he attended Dartmouth Academy and 
Phillips Academy of Andover, Mass. When 
seventeen years old he entered his father's 
store as clerk, and while in that position 
proved himself so well adapted for a mercantile 
career that he was admitted into partnership 
with his father. A few years later Mr. Mad- 
ley formed a copartnership with Mr. T. A. 
Handy, with whom he was in business ten 
years. In 1890 Mr. Handy died, and the bus- 
iness was carried on by Mr. Hadley, who hail 
an extensive trade in general merchandise, 
carrying a good assortment of dry goods, gro- 
ceries, hay, feed, flour, ,etc. At the end of 
two years he sold out to 1 his brother, Stephen 
D. Hadley. In politics Mr. Hadley is a 
stanch adherent of the Republican party, and 



of the people of his 
three years he servec 



gives his aid and encouragement to the various 
enterprises inaugurat(^d for the general welfare 
town and county. For 
as Selectman, in 1892 
was Town Auditor, and is now Assessor, Over- 
seer of the Poor, and a member of the Board 
of Health. 

Mr. Hadley has been twice married. In 
July, 1872, he was united in matrimony with 
Abbic W. Dean, who bore him two children, 
one of whom died in infancy. The other, 
Susie D., was graduated from Tabor Acad- 
emy, and is now a student at the Boston Con- 
servatory of Music. After the death of his 
first wife, which occurred September 25, 1875, 
Mr. Hadley married Miss Priscilla H. Handy, 
daughter of Augustus H. and Susan N. Handy. 
By her he has two children — Augustus A. 
and Elizabeth B. Mr. Hadley is a Knight 
of Honor, belonging to Wareham Lodge, 
No. 1,003, of Marion. 



^0S1-:PI1 OI.IVICR BURDP:TT, an able 
Boston attorney, residing in Hingham, 
Plymouth County, was born in South 
Reading (now Wakefield), Mass., October 30, 
1848. His parents were Joseph and Sally J. 
(Mansfield) Burdett. His paternal great- 
grandfather, Joseph Burdett, was a native of 
Maiden, Mass., where he carried on farming, 
and lived to a good old age. His son 
Michael, a farmer and shoemaker by occupa- 
tion, was a native and lifelong resident of 
Wakefield. He was prominent in local affairs, 
and was a Whig in politics. He married 
Dolly Di.\, of Wakefield, and they had seven 
children. Both parents were members of the 
orthodo.x Congregational church. Mrs. Mi- 
chael Burdett died in early womanhood, while 
her husband liveil to be seventy-si.x years old. 
Their children were: Michael, Mary, Oliver, 



596 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Joseph and Sarah D. (twins), George, and 
Samuel D. Michael died at the age of 
ninety-five. Mary married Samuel Nichols, 
an orthodox minister, and they had five chil- 
dren — Samuel, James, Daniel, Martha, and 
John H. Samuel and Daniel both served in 
the Civil War, enlisting as privates; and 
Daniel was promoted to the rank of Major for 
bravery. Martha (now deceased), was an 
army nurse during the war. John H. Nichols 
is now a member of the firm of Russ Cobb & 
Co., and resides in Dorchester, Mass. Oliver 
Burdett died at the age of forty-five. Joseph 
and Sarah D. Burdett died at the age of eighty, 
Sarah dying a few months previous to her 
brother. George was twice married, and by 
his first wife had four children — George A., 
Mervin, Melville W. , and Francelia. Sam- 
uel D. Burdett was a medical practitioner in 
Philadelphia for many years. He died at the 
age of fifty. 

Joseph Burdett, son of Michael and Dolly 
Dix Burdett, was born May 15, iSii. He 
first worked at shoemaking, and later went to 
Providence, R.I., where he was employed as 
clerk in a furniture store. He subsequently 
engaged in the manufacture of shoes, but 
finally gave up that business, and turned his 
attention to farming. In politics he was first 
a Jacksonian Democrat, then a Free Soiler; 
but in his later days he affiliated with the Re- 
publican party. He was a member of the 
School Committee, and held other offices. 
He was actively interested in church work, 
and belonged to the orthodox Congregational 
church of Wakefield. He married Sally J. 
Mansfield, and they had seven children, four 
of whom are now living: Michael B. ; Dolly 
M.; Josephine; and Joseph Oliver, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. Michael B., born in 
1837, married Albina Long, of Portland, Me. 
They have four children living — Frederick, 



Cyril H., Alice, and Owen. Dolly M., born 
in 1842, is the widow of Charles Avery, of 
Wakefield, and has no children. Josephine 
has been twice married. Her first husband 
was Delano Robinson, by whom she had two 
children — Alvernus and Charles. She re- 
sides with her present husband, a Mr. Gush- 
ing, in San Francisco. The father, Joseph 
Burdett, died in 1891, at the age of eighty 
years. 

Joseph O. Burdett attended the Wakefield 
schools, and was subsequently graduated from 
Tufts College in the class of 1871, having al- 
ternated study with teaching in order to defray 
his expenses. In 1868-69 he taught in Ming- 
ham, and for a few months he taught private 
school in Harvard, Mass. After his gradua- 
tion from Tufts College he entered the Har- 
vard Law School ; and, while a student there, 
studied law simultaneously in the office of 
Judge Hammond. On April 19, 1873, he was 
admitted to the Middlesex bar, and took up 
his residence in Hingham. He subsequently 
opened an office in Boston, at 53 State Street, 
in which he still practises his profession. In 
politics he affiliates with the Republican 
party, and has been a member of the State 
Republican Committee for six years, during 
three of which he has officiated as Chairman. 
Mr. Burdett has served on the School Com- 
mittee continuously since 1S76, having been 
its Chairman for the past seventeen years. 
Since his admission to the bar he has been a 
Justice of the Peace, and for twenty-one years 
he has been Master in Chancery. Since 1876 
he has been Town Counsel, and in 1884 and 
1885 he was Representative to the legislature. 
He was the only Hingham resident who took 
an active interest in the establishment of an 
electric light plant, and he served as Director 
of the company until the plant was purchased 
by the town. He belongs to Old Colony 




NATHANIEL CHURCH. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



S99 



Lodge, No. 1 08, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of Ilinjjham. 

On June 30, 1874, Mr. lUirdett was united 
in marriatje with Miss KllaJ. Carthcll, daugh- 
ter of Jolm and Joan J. (Ripley) Carthcll, of 
ITiiigham. Mr. and Mrs. Burdett have three 
children: Harold C, born May 5, 1877; 
Kdith M, born December 26, 1S80; and Helen 
R., born October 27, 18S2. In religious be- 
lief they are Unitarians. 



TTAAPTAIN NATHANIEL CHURCH. 
I jy Among the hale and vigorous old citi- 

v,i£_^ zcns of Marshfield — a town boast- 
ing many remarkable examples of longevity — 
no one is better known or more esteemed than 
Captain Nathaniel Church. He was born in 
Marshfield, Mass., March 19, 181 2, a son of 
Captain David and Betty (Keen) Church, and 
comes of English stock long jilanted in the 
soil of the Old Colony. 

Richard Church, the immigrant ancestor of 
the family, was in Boston, Mass., as early as 
1630, and in Plymouth in 1633. He married 
Elizabeth Warren, who came over with her 
mother and sisters in the "Ann " nearly three 
years after her father. Richard came in the 
"Mayflower." So far as we are aware a com- 
plete genealogy of the Church family in 
America, or e\en of the first five or si.\ genera- 
tions, has not been published. Historical 
writers mention among other children of the 
first Richard, Nathaniel of Scituate, Mass., 
and Benjamin, born in 1639, the noted leader 
in the Indian wars, who married Alice South- 
worth, daughter of Constant Southworth, and 
lived for a time in Du.xbury, Mass., but settled 
later at Little Compton, R.I. Colonel Benja- 
min Church had a son Thomas born in 1674; 
Constant, born in 1676; Edsvard ; Charles; 
Benjamin, who never married; a son that died 



in infancy; and a daughter Elizabeth. Na- 
thaniel Church, first, of Scituate, was the 
father of Richard second, Nathaniel second, 
Joseph, Charles, and three daughters. 

The paternal grandfather of Captain Nathan- 
iel Church of this sketch was Constant Church, 
a native of that part of the old town of Scitu- 
ate that is now Norwell, who is thought to 
have been of the line of Colonel Benjamin 
Church, several of whose posterity in the early 
generations bore that name in hnivir nf his 
wife's father. 

Captain David Church, son of Constant 
Church, of Scituate, followed the sea for a 
number of years, commanding vessels in the 
coasting and packet marine service, and was- 
widely known and very popular. He died in 
Marshfield in 1839. His wife, who was born 
in Du.xbury, Mass., died in Marshfield in 
February, 1 840. 

Nathaniel Church grew to manhood on a 
farm in Marshfield, acquiring a knowledge of 
reading, writing, and arithmetic in a little old- 
fashioned school-house very different from the 
finely-equipped halls of learning of to-day. 
His attendance was limited to the winter ses- 
sions, and when he was sixteen years old his 
education was supposed to be finished; but, as 
a matter of fact, he has kept his eyes open, his 
mind active, and through reading and observa- 
tion has been a learner from his youth up. 
During the years of his active manhood he was 
engaged in f:uniing and teaming, the latter in 
the winter season. When ship-building was 
flourishing in this locality, he was kept very 
busy in winter hauling lumber to the docks. 
He is now practically retired from business 
pursuits. He has witnessed many changes in 
industrial conditions in Marshfield, and is well 
acquainted with the history of the place for the 
past three-quarters of a century. Joining the 
militia when he was eighteen years old, he 



6oo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



eventually became the commander of a com- 
pany ; and since that time he has been gen- 
erally known as Captain Church. 

He has been three times married. His 
first wife, Eveline Sherman, bore him three 
children: Betsey K., wife of William J. 
Walsh, of Marshfield ; David, who was killed 
in the battle of the Wilderness; and Edwin, 
deceased. His second wife, Lucy Carver, of 
Mar.shfield, was the mother of one child — 
Sarah C. (deceased). Captain Church mar- 
ried for his third wife Mrs. Janet Logan 
Sproul Reed, daughter of Matthew and Janet 
(Logan) Sproul, and widow of Marcus Reed, 
Jr., of Whitman, Mass. By her first marriage 
she had four children: Janet A., wife of 
W. D. Taylor, of Cleveland, Ohio; Susan M., 
deceased; Marcus W., of Cincinnati, Ohio; 
and Amelia F., deceased. Mrs. Church was 
born in Paisley, Scotland, where the famous 
Paisley shawls are manufactured and the 
Coats thread. This city is the home of all 
her people. Mr. and Mrs. Church are mem- 
bers of the First Baptist Society of Marshfield. 
They are well known and esteemed, and the 
Captain is always ready to favor any reasonable 
project for the improvement of the town. 



{JOSEPH WHITE, a leading business 
man of Hanson, Mass., was born in 
this town, June 14, 1832, son of Joseph 
and Eliza D. (Bonney) White.. He is de- 
scended from a long line of New England an- 
cestry. His progenitor, si.x generations re- 
moved, was one Gowin White, of whom it is 
recorded that he was one of the Connihasset 
partners in 1646. In 1650 Gowin White pur- 
chased a large farm of William Richards, 
which remained in the family until about 
1850. His son Timothy, born 1679, married 
Rebecca Simons in 1707. Their son, Timo- 



thy White, second, born in 170S, married 
Sarah Clapp in 1732. Their son Timothy, 
third, who was born in Scituate, was twice 
married, his second wife being Temperance 
Bryant, to whom he was united in 1794. He 
died in 1825. 

Joseph White, son of Timothy, third, and 
father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
in Scituate, May 15, 1808. He was educated 
in the common schools, and engaged in the 
manufacture of boxes, also dealing to some ex- 
tent in horses. He married Eliza Delano 
Bonney, daughter of Nathaniel Bonney, of 
Hanson, and they had six children, four of 
whom attained maturity: Joseph; Eliza Bart- 
lett ; Clayton, now deceased; and Sarah J., 
wife of Bradley S. Bryant. The parents at- 
tended and helped support the Congregational 
church, and the mother, who was musically 
gifted, sang in the choir for five years, dur- 
ing which time she did not miss a service. 

Joseph White, second, direct subject of this 
sketch, was educated in the common schools, 
though perhaps the most valuable part of his 
education has been acquired in the great and 
practical school of life. He began to be 
self-supporting at a comparatively early age, 
working in the tannery and box factory of his 
father, with whom he remained until he was 
twenty-one. He then began to deal in horses 
and carriages on his own account, in which 
pursuit he showed good judgment, and laid the 
foundations of his present prosperity. In the 
early seventies Mr. White built his present 
factories, and began the manufacture of heavy 
wagons, an enterprise the success of which 
has been marked, and which is still growing. 
The factory furnishes employment most of the 
time to eight or ten men, and the business is 
one of the most firmly established in the town 
of Hanson. 

Mr. White was married November 24, 1859, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



6oi 



to Sarah E. I'cri}', daughter of Josiah I'\ 
I'orry, of Hanover, IMass. They have five 
chilih-cn, namely: Josephine, wlio married 
Kdwaril Churehill, of East Bridgewater; Jo- 
seph Bartlett, who married Mrs. Anna Bates, 
of South Hanover; Catherine A., wife of 
Walter Caider, of South Hanson; Howard IT., 
who married Annie A. Howland, of Duxbury; 
and Bern ice E. 

Josiah F. Perry, father of Mrs. White, was 
born in Dorchester, Mass., September 17, 
1809. His grandfather was Adam Perry, a 
native of Hanover, who fought in the Revolu- 
tionary War, and a farmer by occupation. Jo- 
siah Perry obtaineil such education as was 
then afforded by the district schools. He 
learned the trade of an iron moulder, which 
he followed until he removed to Hanover in 
the early fifties. There he located on a farm 
which had belonged to his grandfather, and 
which he carried on as long as he lived. He 
took an intelligent interest in public affairs, 
and was a firm Democrat politically. On 
February 9, 1836, he married Sarah C. Hil- 
dreth, daughter of James Varnum Iliklreth, 
of Dracut, INIass. liy her he became the father 
of eight children, five of whom grew to matur- 
ity, namely: Sarah F.. (Mrs. Joseph White); 
Josi'ah Field, now a resident of Haverhill, 
Mass.; James Henry, who served in the war 
in the Eighteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, 
and died in i8go, unmarried; Anna A. Mer- 
rill; and Clara F., now residing in Provi- 
dence, R. I. , where she is employed as a 
teacher. 

Mrs. Perry can trace her ancestry back on 
her mother's side for many generations, the 
first ancestor of whom there is record being 
Sergeant Richard Hildreth, who was born in 
England in 1605. He was a magistrate and a 
man of some importance in his native country. 
Later in life he came to America, settling in 



Chelmsford, Mass., where he died in 1688. 
His son, Lieutenant James Hildreth, was ijorn 
in England in 163 1. He married Margaret 
Ward. The ne.\t ancestor was Major E])hraini 
Hildreth. His second son, Josiah, born in 
1 7 10, in 1740 married Rebecca Wright, and 
they had five children. Their fourth child, 
Captain Josiah Hildreth, Jr., was born in 
1746. He fought for American independence 
in the Revolutionary War, being one of Cap- 
tain Peter Coburn's company in 1775; and in 
1777 he fought under General Gates, in Cap- 
tain Joseph Varnum's company. After the 
surrender of General ISurgoyne, he was one of 
those apjjointed to escort the British prisoners 
and captured military stores to Boston. He 
married Hannah Varnum. Their son, James 
Varnum Hildreth, was the maternal grand- 
father of Mrs. White. He was born Decem- 
ber 12, 1774, in Dracut, Mass., and was a 
farmer by occupation. He married Susannah 
Richardson, daughter of Obadiah Richardson, 
and they had eight children, of whom Sarah 
C, mother of Mrs. White, was the youngest. 

From Susannah Richardson Hildreth, her 
maternal grandmother, ;\Irs. White traces her 
ancestry back, as follows: Lieutenant Obadiah 
[\ichardson was a son of Moses Richardson, 
who was son of Captain Josiah, third, who was 
son of Lieutenant Josiah, second, who was 
son of Captain Josiah, first, who was the sec- 
ond son of Ezekiel Richardson, who came from 
England in 1630, and was one of the founders 
of Woburn, Mass. 

Mr. White is distinctively an American by 
birth, ancestry, and personal characteristics. 
His high standing as a business man ami citi- 
zen has been wholly self-achieved. His wile 
is a woman of rare sagacity and exceptional 
business ability, and her wise counsels and 
ready assistance have been of great value to 
iier husband. Besides his regular business 



6o2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




Mr. White has large real estate interests in 
the vicinity of Brant Rock. He and his wife 
attend and help support the Congregational 
church. 

REDERICK HOWARD, who, durinj 
his long and active career was one of 
the most esteemed residents of Brock- 
ton, was born in this town (then known as the 
North Parish of Bridgewater), February 14, 
181 5. He is a descendant of John Howard, 
who came from England, and settled first in 
Du.xbury, and later, about 165 1, in West 
Bridgewater. John Howard is said to have 
lived, when a lad, in the family of Miles 
Standish. He was a man of great influence, 
and was one of the first military ofificers in 
Bridgewater. ' From him Mr. Howard's line 
of descent is traced through John, second, 
Robert (who held the title of Captain, and 
was one of the first settlers of the North 
Parish), Daniel, and Darius, our subject's 
father. 

Darius Howard married first Sophia, daugh- 
ter of Jonas Howard, June 3, 1804, and by her 
had three children. His wife dying August 
15, 1807, on June 5, 1808, he married for 
his second wife, Huldah, daughter of Jonathan 
Carey. Their family consisted of seven chil- 
dren, of whom Frederick was the fourth. The 
father, who died in 1836, was a prominent 
man in the town, serving at different times as 
Selectman and Deputy Sheriff. 

Frederick Howard, our direct subject, was 
educated in the common schools of North 
Bridgewater. At the early age of thirteen he 
entered the employ of Lysander Howard, 
dressing and cutting shoes, for which he re- 
ceived only one shilling per day for the first 
six months. He remained thus engaged until 
he was twenty-one, and earned in that time 
eleven hundred dollars, half of which he re- 



tained, the other half going to his father. 
He then worked one year for Rufus E. How- 
ard, in the same business, having charge of 
the cutting department. In 1837 he began 
for himself in a small way, in the manufact- 
ure of boots and shoes, which he carried on 
si.\ years, when failing health compelled him 
to relinquish it. From that time until his 
death he dealt in real estate, and also was en- 
gaged to some extent in the settlement of es- 
tates. He was a Director of the North 
]5ridgewater Bank during its existence, from 
1854 to 1865. A Republican in politics, he 
became prominent in town affairs, and held 
various positions of responsibility and trust. 
He was Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of 
the Poor (one year, in 1849), and was Special 
County Commissioner nine years. Of a gen- 
erous and charitable nature, he expended 
thousands of dollars in acts of private benevo- 
lence. Though an octogenarian, and an in- 
valid for some time prior to his death, his 
mental powers remained bright, and he pre- 
served a cheerful disposition to the end. His 
memory will long be honored by the commu- 
nity in which he spent his life. 



BED LINCOLN RIPLEY, the efficient 
Treasurer of the Rhodes & Ripley 
Clothing Company of Boston, and an 
esteemed resident of Ilingham, Plymouth 
County, was born in this town. May 23, 1831, 
son of Ebed and Leah (Jones) Ripley. The 
family are of English extraction, the earliest- 
known ancestor being William, a weaver by 
trade, who came from lingland in 1638, and 
settled in New Hingham. The same year he 
had a grant of four acres of land, the greater 
part of which is still held by his descendants. 
By his first wife, whom he married in Eng- 
I land, he had four children, who came with 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



603 



liini to America. John, the cUlcst, nianicil 
Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. I'etcr llolxut, 
and tliey had seven children, lie died at the 
age of Hfty-two, and his wife at the age of 
sixty. I'eter, their (iftii child, and ne.xt in 
line, was born in Ilingham in 166.S. lie was 
a cooper by trade, and became quite jiromi- 
nent in town affairs, serving as Constable in 
1708, and as Selectman in 1725. He married 
Sarah La.sscll, daughter of John and IClizabeth 
Lassell, of Hingham, and they had six chil- 
dren. The father died at the age of seventy- 
four, and the mother at seventy. Peter, their 
second child, born in Hingham, married for 
his first wife Silence Lincoln, daughter of. 
Caleb and Rachel Lincoln, of this town, and 
they became the parents of eight children. 
He was prominent in town affairs, being Con- 
stable in 1735, and Selectman in 1738 and 
1741. He died at the age of sixty-nine years. 
Neheniiah, their fifth child, married Lydia 
Hobart, daughter of the Rev. Nehemiah and 
Lydia Hobart, and they had seven children. 
He was a farmer by occupation, served as 
Constable, and died in his forty-third year. 

Nehemiah, second child of Nehemiah and 
Lydia Hobart Ripley, and the grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch, was born in Hing- 
ham in 1755. He lived on the homestead all 
his life, following agricultural pursuits. He 
married I'riscilla Lincoln, whose mother's 
maiden name was Mary Burr, and they had 
nine children. They were members of the 
F"irst Orthodo.x Church. He lived to the age 
of seventy-four years. 

Kbed, seventh child of Nehemiah and I'ris- 
cilla Lincoln Ripley, was born in Hingham, 
November 15, 1793. He learned the trade of 
a box cooper, and was also land surveyor, 
which profession he followed through life. 
In politics he was at first a Whig and later a 
Republican. He was a hard-working man, and 



left a good property at his death, which oc- 
curred at the age of eighty-two years. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Leah Jones, 
was a daughter of Benjamin Jones, of Hing- 
ham. She had three children — Mary Burr, 
Joan, and l^bed. Mary Burr Ripley married 
John K. Carthell, and died leaving three chil- 
dren — John G., Henry R., and Mary R. 
Joan Ripley became Mr. Carthell's wife after 
the death of her sister, and is now his widow. 
She has one child living, Ella. The father 
and mother were Unitarians in religious belief; 
and the mother died at the age of fifty-eight. 

Kbed L. Ripley was educated in the public 
schools and at Derby Academy in Hingham. 
He then went to New London, Conn., where 
he was employed for one year, after which he 
returned to Hingham. He subsequently went 
to Boston, entering the employ of Fearing & 
Whitney, wholesale clothing dealers, with 
whom he remained seven years, finally suc- 
ceeding them as part proprietor, the firm name 
being changed to Rhodes & Ripley in July, 
1855. Later the firm was known under the 
style of Rhodes, Ripley & Co., until 1896, 
when it was incorporated as the Rhodes & 
Ripley Clothing Company, Mr. Ripley becom- 
ing its Treasurer. Mr. Ripley is a Republi- 
can politically, and has twice served as dele- 
gate to national conventions, helping to nomi- 
nate Blaine and Harrison. He is I'resident 
of the Hingham Water Company, being one 
of the prime movers in getting the power es- 
tablished; President of the Hingham Agri- 
cultural and Horticultural Society, having 
held that jwsition for the i)ast sixteen years; 
President of the Hingham Cemetery Corjiora- 
tion; and has been President of the Hingham 
Co-operative Bank since its organization, hav- 
ing been actively interested in its establish- 
ment. He officiates also as Trustee of the 
Hingham Public Library. 



6o4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Ripley has been twice married. His 
first wife, Henrietta Hersey by maiden name, 
was a daughter of Seth S. and Betsy R. 
Hersey, of Hingham. She died in 1868, at 
the age of thirty-two, leaving no children. 
On January 3, 1871, Mr. Ripley married for 
his second wife Miss Elizabeth Henry Mel- 
ville Hersey, daughter of Henry and Betsy 
Hersey, and a niece of his first wife. They 
have seven children, namely: Henry Francis, 
born March 2, 1872; Ebed R., born Novem- 
ber 6, 1873; William Ripley, born March i, 
1876; Nettie M., born April 12, 1878; Alice, 
born August 3, 1880; Bessie W. , born March 
26, 1883; and Reginald L., who was born 
July 6, 1891. Mr. Ripley is a member of the 
Masonic order. He and his wife are believers 
in the Unitarian faith. 




'AMUEL HERVEY CHURCH, a 
prosperous agriculturist and highly 
respected citizen of Hanover, Mass., 
is a native of this town. He was born at 
Hanover Four Corners, September 15, 1S30, 
and was the eldest of the seven children of 
Samuel S. and Sarah (Sylvester) Church, the 
names of the other six being: Timothy, 
Julietta S., Sarah E., Mary A., Robert, and 
Benjamin. Their paternal grandfather was 
Timothy Church. 

After attending the district school and Han- 
over Academy, at the age of seventeen Sam- 
uel H. Church began working at the trade of 
an anchorsmith, at which he served a three 
years" apprenticeship with John Sylvester, of 
Hanover; and, after remaining with him 
another year as journeyman, went to East Wey- 
mouth. Returning to Hanover at the end of 
twelve months, he worked at his trade here for 
a few years, subsequently going to Somerset, 
and thence to Raynham ; from which place. 



four years later, he again returned to Hanover, 
and worked until 1868 at Curtis's anchor works. 
When the Hanover Railroad was started he 
held the position of assistant station agent 
here about ten months, after which he engaged 
in the coal and grain business for eight 
months. Mr. Church then sold out, and in 
1870 he removed to the farm where he now 
lives, and is engaged in the saw and grist mill 
business in addition to his farm work. His 
homestead contains sixty acres, and he also 
owns other tracts of land, making in all one 
hundred and fifty acres. 

In 1 861 he was married to Miss Ellen C. 
Gardner. Their only child, a son, Edward 
G., who was born July 20, 1868, died March 
II, 1876. Mr. Church is a stanch Republi- 
can. He has served acceptably in various 
minor town offices, also as Assessor, Overseer 
of the Poor, and Selectman from 1877 to 
18S9 — twelve successive years. 



T^APTAIN JOSHUA L. MACOMBER, 
I jp an old and respected citizen residing 

^J^ ^ in Mattapoisett, Plymouth County, 
is one of the large number of men in this lo- 
cality who, after many years of seafaring life, 
have engaged successfully in industrial pur- 
suits. He was born in Mattapoisett, January 
16, 1829, and was reared in this town, acquir- 
ing a limited education. He went to work at 
the early age of fourteen, and for two years 
was employed as a clerk in a store in New 
Bedford. Then, when a lad of sixteen, he 
started on his nautical career, engaging as 
cabin boy on the ship "Roman," a New Bed- 
ford whaler. 

The vessel sailed for the whaling grounds 
of the Pacific Ocean, and was out from port 
thirty-two months and twenty-seven days. 
On his return to New Bedford the lad shipped 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



60S 



again, this time engaging as boat stecrcr on 
the ship "Ai)rahani ]5arker," wiiich was out 
twcnty-thrx'e months, cruising in the Arctic 
and Pacific Oceans. His next voyage, which 
covered thirty-two months, was as third mate 
of the same vessel, cruising in the Arctic 
Ocean; and he was subsequently first mate of 
the "Abraham Barker" during a forty-five 
months' cruise in the Arctic Ocean, the 
Okhotsk Sea, and the North Pacific. His 
fifth voyage was as first mate of the bark 
"Martha Q.," of New liedford, which was out 
forty-eight months to a day, sailing the Arctic 
and Pacific Oceans. On his next voyage he 
left port as mate of the same ship, and, the 
captain dying when she was out some thirteen 
months, he was given charge of the vessel. 

From beginning to end the voyage was a dis- 
astrous one. On June 29, 1865, the ship was 
burned in Behring Straits by the "Shenan- 
doah," one of the Confederate privateers which 
were fitted out in Great Britain, through the 
connivance of the British government, to prey 
on American commerce; antl the crew, with 
the sailors from seven other vessels, making 
two hundred and forty men all told, were 
crowded on one vessel. This arrangement, 
however, was unsafe for the captors, and [lart 
of the men were afterward placed on another 
vessel. Captain Macomber landed at the 
.Sandwich Islands, went thence to San Fran- 
cisco, and from there home. On this voyage 
he was injured by a whale, and his hurt was 
so serious that he decided to retire from the 
sea. Accordingly, he located in his present 
home, and engaged in the manufacture of lum- 
ber and shingles, establishing a saw-mill in 
Mattapoisett, which is still under his direc- 
tion. 

Captain Macomber was married May 23, 
1853, to Miss Sophronia D. Cowen, who died 
in 1874. She was the mother of two children 



— Susan M. anil Flizabeth, who arc both with 
her in the world beyond. In 1876 the Cap- 
tain was united in matrimony with Miss Mary 
G. Hiller, who still presides over his hou.se- 
hold. By this union he has three children: 
Joshua; Chloe, a student at Providence Acad- 
emy ; and Seth. A popular member of the 
Republican party, Captain Macomber has 
served on the School Board for twenty years, 
and officiated as Justice of the Peace for six- 
teen years. In religion he is a member of the 
Society of Friends. 



f^^TEORGE K. DAVIS, a well-known 
\J5| resident of Hingham, Mass., en- 
gaged in business as an ice dealer 
and expressman, was born in Bombay, Frank- 
lin County, N.Y., July 11, 1851, son of 
George W. and Caroline (Jackson) Davis. 
His grandfather, George E. Davis, first, was a 
native of Wales, and lived there until he was 
three years of age, when his father, the great- 
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, emi- 
grated to Connecticut, where he engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. Grandfather Davis 
married Eunice Butler, of Vermont, and they 
had ten children. Me died at the age of sixty- 
five, while his wife lived to the advanced age 
of ninety-six years. His political principles 
were those of the Republican party, and he 
was liberal in religion. Serving as a private 
in the War of 1812, he was wounded, and he 
drew a pension for many years thereafter. 

George W., his second child, and the father 
of George E., of Hingham, was born in Grand 
Isle, Vt. At the age of nine years he re- 
moved with his parents to Bombay, N.Y. , 
where he grew to mahood, being largely self- 
educated. He stuilied law, and, besides 
doing a large business drawing deeds and set- 
tling estates, became prominent in town 



6o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



affairs, serving as Custom-house Collector for 
fifteen years, being appointed in 1870. He 
also officiated as Justice of the Peace for many 
years. In politics he affiliates with the Re- 
publican party, and in religion he is liberal. 
Still a resident of Bombay, and somewhat ad- 
vanced in life, he is yet hale and hearty. He 
has met with excellent financial success. 

He married Caroline Jackson, and five chil- 
dren were born to them; namely, Daniel C, 
James B. (deceased), Martha A., George E., 
and Laura A. Martha A. is the wife of Dr. 
H. S. Rockwood, of Bombay, N.Y., and has 
two living children — George and Henry. 
Laura A. married H. M. Bero, of Bombay. 
They have no children. The maternal grand- 
father, Eliphalet Jackson, was born in Hines- 
burgh, Vt. At the age of twenty-one he re- 
moved to Grand River, Canada, and was mar- 
ried to Martha Willsie. In 1S82 they settled 
at Bombay, N.Y., where they reared a family 
of seven girls and two boys. Mr. Jackson at- 
tained the age of eighty-three years. His 
wife died at about fourscore. 

George E. Davis received his early educa- 
tion in Bombay, N.Y., and from the time he 
was twelve until he was twenty worked on a 
farm. For a year and a half after that he was 
employed in a hotel in his native town. He 
then came East, and, settling in Cohasset, 
Mass., remained three years. In 1878 he 
came to Hingham, where he has continued to 
the present time, being engaged as an ice 
dealer and jobber, dealing in hay and grain. 
In 1 88 1 he established an express route from 
Nantasket to Boston, which he also still runs. 
He began his mercantile career in a small 
way, but he has been so successful that he is 
now one of the most prominent business men 
in town. In politics he is identified with the 
Republican party, but he is not an office- 
holder. Fraternally, he belongs to the Old 



Colony Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows; the Old Colony Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; 
the Royal Arcanum, Warren Council, Boston; 
the Hingham Lodge, Knights of Honor; and 
the Golden Cross organization of Hingham. 

Mr. Davis and Ada M. Bero, daughter of 
Henry Bero, of Bombay, N.Y. , were married 
on Washington's Birthday, 18S1. They have 
five children — William Harry, George W., 
Veda May, Hazel A., and Warren P. 



OVLLAN LINCOLN SHIRLEY, M.D., 
t^ of East Bridgewater, is a graduate of 
' '* V_^ Bowdoin College, and a thoroughly 
qualified physician and surgeon. He was born 
in Fryeburg, Me., February 15, 1865, son of 
Franklin and Emily (Page) Shirley, and comes 
of notable English and New England stock. ^^ 

His great-great-grandfather, Edward Shirley, 
who was born in Burton, Devonshire, Eng- 
land, about 1743, was impressed into military 
service, and came to this country just before 
the breaking out of the Revolution. Dislik- 
ing his impressment, and sympathizing with 
the colonists, he left the British forces, and 
fled to General Stark. Fearing discovery and 
punishment as a deserter, he was kept in hid- 
ing when not assisting the General in building 
his house. Edward Shirley subsequently set- 
tled in Fryeburg, Me., and there Jonathan, 
Edward (third), and Franklin, respectively 
the great-grandfather, grandfather, and father 
of Dr. Shirley, were born. 

In England the Shirleys were connected by 
marriage with the VVashingtons. It is re- 
corded that Lawrence Washington, of Gray's 
Inn, ancestor of George Washington, who 
served as Mayor of Northampton, and in 1538 
received from Henry VIII. the manor of Sul- 
grave, married a daughter of Shirley, Earl 
Ferrars. If this is correct, Shirley blood 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



607 



flowed in George Washington's veins. ICliza- 
beth Washington, grand-daughter of Sir Law- 
rence Washington, of Garsdon, Wiltshire, 
second son of the first Lawrence, married 
Robert Shirley, Uaron Kerrars, of Chartley, 
afterward Karl Fcrrars. 

Franklin Shirley, Dr. Shirley's father, is a 
well educated man. For some time he man- 
aged a farm of six hundred acres in h'ryeburg, 
his own property; and lie was aJso in trade 
there, retailing general merchandise, and was 
engaged in the manufacture and sale of lum- 
ber. His wife, Emily (Page) Shirley, was a 
descendant of Cornelius Page, probably a na- 
tive of Dedham, lingland, who settled in 
Haverhill, Mass., about 1660. His great- 
grandson, Colonel David Page, the great- 
great-grandfather of Dr. Shirley, was one of 
the original seven who went from Pennacook 
(now Concord, N.II.,) in 1763, into the Maine 
wilderness, and .settled "Seven Lots," now the 
town of Fryeburg. He and others of the 
seven had been in the French War with 
Rogers, participating in the daring exploits of 
" Rogers' Rangers " ; and in one of the lake 
fights he was wounded in the leg by a musket 
ball. Colonel David Page was for many years 
an acting magistrate of Fryeburg; and he was 
one of the first Trustees of Fryeburg Acad- 
emy, appointed in 1792. Dr. Shirley's great- 
grandfather and grandfather, Robert and 
Albion Page, lived and died in Fryeburg; 
and there his mother, too, passed her life, and 
closed her eyes in death. 

It is, perhaps, from the maternal side of his 
family that Dr. Shirley inherited his bent for 
mcdicihe. Dr. Horatio N. Page, formerly of 
Brewer, Me., and later of Chelsea, Mass., was 
his great-uncle; Dr. Alpheus F. Page, of 
Bucksport, Me., and Samuel Bradley, of Old- 
town, Me., whose mother was a Page, were his 
mother's cousins; Dr. William Page, of 



Brunswick, Me., was his grandfather's cousin; 
and the Hon. Jonathan Page, M.D. , who prac- 
tised in Brunswick, Me., before the medical 
college was established there, and who also 
taught medicine, often having a large number 
of students under his instruction, was a son of 
Colonel David Page. He was an original 
member of the Maine Medical Society, and was 
Overseer of Bowdoin College for upward of 
twenty years. He was a statesman as well as 
a physician, a member of the Maine Senate in 
18 1 2, 1820, and 1 82 1, and a member of the 
Constitutional Convention in 1819-20. His 
house in Brunswick was spacious, and his dis- 
position hospitable; and many distinguished 
guests rested under his roof. The celebrated 
Scotch anatomist, Dr. Alexander Ramsey, who 
gave courses qf anatomical lectures in this 
country, illustrated by his own specimens, was 
entertained at Dr. Page's house when he lect- 
ured in Brunswick. 

Allan Lincoln Shirley in his boyhood at- 
tended the public schools of Fryeburg, and 
later Fryeburg Academy, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1886. Immediately after he took up 
the study of medicine with Dr. D. Lowell 
Lamson, of Fryeburg, a man of rare scholar- 
shi]i, a graduate of the University Medical 
College of New York City. A year and a 
half with Dr. Lamson gave the young man a 
broad insight into the theory and ])ractice of 
medicine. His studies were continued at 
Bowdoin College, from which he graduated in 
the spring of 1890, and in the Maine General 
Hospital in Portland; for soon after entering 
college he moved from Fryeburg to that city. 
In September, 1890, he engaged in regular 
practice in East Bridgewater, succeeding Dr. 
Asa Millet (now decea.sed), who then retired: 
and, though in professional work here but a 
short time, he has a large and lucrative prac- 
tice, and enjoys the confidence of his patrons. 



6o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Dr. Shirley is an enthusiastic student, and 
embraces every opportunity to visit the Bos- 
ton hospitals, and study the different forms of 
disease, and the latest methods of surgery. 
He has been Chairman of the East Bridge- 
water Board of Health two years, and has been 
a member of that body for a much longer 
period; and he belongs to the Village Im- 
provement Club. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican. 



WILLIAM L. CH 
Fourth Distric 



CHIPMAN, clerk of the 
ict Court of Plymouth, 
and an esteemed resident of the 
town of Wareham, was born November 2, 
1836, in Randolph, Norfolk County, Mass., a 
son of Lloyd and Hannah R. Chipman. 

Lloyd Chipman in his early life was a stage 
driver between Providence and Boston. After 
the completion of the railway between those 
cities he removed to Wareham, where he was 
proprietor and manager of a hotel until his 
death, in 1865. The maiden name of his 
wife was Hannah R. White. She bore him 
three children, as follows: William L., sub- 
ject of this brief biographical sketch; Sarah 
E. ; and George W. , who died in 1884. The 
mother, Mrs. Hannah R. Chipman, died April 
26, 1879. 

William L. Chipman was reared to man- 
hood in the town of Wareham, receiving his 
education in the public schools and at Peirce 
Academy in Middleboro. He was subsequently 
employed as a clerk for his father in the hotel 
until i860, when he was appointed Deputy 
Sheriff and Constable, an office in which he 
served one term. He then accepted the posi- 
tion of clerk in the office of Trial Justice 
William Bates, afterward continuing some 
years in the same office with Seth Miller, 
Esq., who succeeded Mr. Bates as Trial 
Justice. In addition to his office duties, Mr. 



Chipman was also Collector, as such having 
charge of a good deal of business. In 1874 
he became clerk of the Fourth District Court 
of Plymouth, an office which he has acceptably 
filled for more than a score of years. Since 
1872 he has been Notary Public and Justice 
of the Peace. In politics Mr. Chipman is an 
adherent of the Republican party, and is an 
advocate of the temperance cause, practising 
as he preaches in this regard, as he has never 
used liquor in any form. He has never been 
an aspirant for political honors, but served for 
many years as Town Auditor. 

Mr. Chipman and Miss Hannah J. Hinck- 
ley, a daughter of Alpheus and Abbie (Bum- 
pus) Hinckley, of Wareham, were united in 
marriage on January 14, 1874. They have a 
pleasant home, and are the parents of three 
children; namely, George W., Abbie F., and 
Paul L. Chipman. 



/3)eORGE C. HOWARD, the popular 
V fsT and efficient Superintendent of 
Schools in the towns of East Bridge- 
water, West liridgewater, and Raynham, who 
resides with his widowed mother in their 
pleasant rural home in West Bridgewater, is a 
native of this town. He was born October 2, 
i860, a son of Elam and Keziah (Wilbur) 
Howard, the former of whom was born in West 
Bridgewater, and the latter in Bridgewater, 
Mass. 

Elam Howard was a son of Thomas Howard, 
and was a lineal descendant of John Howard, 
one of the early settlers of West Bridgewater. 
A lifelong farmer, he died here in November, 
1876, survived by his widow and several chil- 
dren, namely: Hepsie, wife of Elijah Smith; 
Ida, wife of Heman Stranger; Helen, wife of 
Josiah W. Foye; Edith, wife of W. H. 
Washburn; Grace, wife of M. A. Kingman; 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



609 



ami George C. Mary A., who married Joseph 
Billiard; and Alice, formerly wife of William 
Michie, are deceased. 

After acquiring a knowledge of the common 
English branches in the public schools of 
West Bridgewater, George C. Howard, having 
decided to devote himself to educational work, 
took a complete course at the State Normal 
School at Bridgewater, Mass., where he was 
graduated in 1882, having earned the money 
to defray his expenses during the last two 
years. For a number of years he was em- 
ployed as a teacher, being successively prin- 
cipal of the Spraguc Grammar School at 
Brockton, and of the Mattapoisett High 
School, and all this time making a special 
study of the theory and practice of teach- 
ing. In April, 1895, he was elected Super- 
intendent of the schools of East Bridge- 
water, West Bridgewater, and Rajnham, and 
in 1896 he was re-elected to the same posi- 
tion. 

In political affiliation Mr. Howard is a Re- 
publican, and in 1892 represented the three 
]5ridgcwaters in the Massachusetts legislature, 
and during his term was clerk of the Commit- 
tee on Education. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of Howard Lodge, Knights of Pythias, at 
West Bridgewater. Me is a member of the 
Baptist church. Both as a citizen and as an 
educator he enjoys the confidence and good 
will of the public. 




BNER WOOD, a successful, practical 
agriculturist of Middleboro, Mass., 
was born in this town, January 9, 
1840, son of William T. and Amanda (Sawyer) 
Wood. His grandfather, Abner Wood, was a 
son of Abner, Sr., who was the first of this 
branch of the family to settle in Middleboro. 
He was of English descent. 



VVilliaiu T. and Amanda Wood were the 
parents of three children, as follows: Catherine 
C, living in Middleboro; William H., who 
lost his life in the battle of Petersburg; and 
Abner, of this sketch. William H. Wood 
left four children, two boys and two girls. 
One of the boys at eight years of age was 
taken under the care of his uncle Abner, for 
whom he was named. He grew to manhood, 
and died at the age of twenty-nine. 

Having acquired his education in the dis- 
trict schools of Middleboro, Abner Wood 
when si.xteen years of age went to Taunton, 
Mass., to learn the trade of Reed & Benton, 
and remained four years. 

Returning to the old homestead, he lived 
there until 1858, then removed to a farm near 
Middleboro village; and two years later, in 
i860, he purciiased tiie farm of one hundred 
acres, on which he has since lived. He owns 
other tracts of lantl, aggregating about one 
hundred and forty-five acres, including the 
home place. For fourteen years Mr. Wood 
has served as Highway Surveyor, and for five 
years as Fire Warden, being an eminently 
useful and much esteemed citizen. 




jALVIN PRATT, M.D.. is one of the 
prominent physicians of Eastern Mas- 
sachusetts, fitted by natural ability 
and the best of training for the serious work 
which he is called upon to do. He was born 
in the town of Bridgewater, his present home, 
March 24, 1842, a son of Dr. Calvin B. and 
Mary T. (Perkins) Pratt. 

Phineas and Joshua Pratt, Englishmen, one 
or both of whom sailed in the ship "Ann." 
which arrived at Plymouth in August, 1623, 
were the first representatives of the Pratt fam- 
ily in America. Savage, however, says that 
Phineas Pratt was in Massachusetts in June, 



6io 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1622. He settled in Weymouth, and after- 
ward removed to Charlestown. 

The line of descent is thus continued: 
Matthew Pratt, of Weymouth, Mass., who 
died in 1672; his son Joseph, born in 1637, 
died in 1720; Joseph, Jr., born 1665, died 
1765; Benjamin, his son, born 1693, died 
1762; Benjamin, Jr., born 1719, died 1776; 
William, son of Benjamin, Jr , born 1746, 
died 1808; Calvin, son of William, born 
1774, died 1824. Dr. Pratt's great-great- 
grandfather, Benjamin Pratt, held a commis- 
sion in the British regular army, under George 
III.; and Benjamin's son Calvin was a Cap- 
tain in the Massachusetts State militia after 
the Revolutionary War. 

Dr. Calvin B. Pratt, son of Calvin, first, 
was born in Middleboro, Mass. An able and 
popular physician, he practised in Bridge- 
water over twenty years, dying in 1S62. His 
wife was a daughter of Jacob Perkins, the 
founder of the Lazel & Perkins Iron Works at 
Bridgewater, now known as the Bridgewater 
Iron Works. She died June 5, 1875. Of 
their children, four are living: Henry T. and 
Sarah K., in Bridgewater; John W. , resident 
physician aod superintendent of the Massa- 
chusetts General Hospital in Boston; and 
Calvin, the special subject of this biographi- 
cal sketch. 

Calvin Pratt attended the public and pri- 
vate schools in Bridgewater, the academy in 
this town, and the Bridgewater State Normal 
School, where he was graduated. He took a 
six months' course in chemistry in Harvard 
University, a special course in comparative 
anatomy and physiology with Professor 
Jeffries Wyman at Cambridge, and during the 
Civil War was acting medical cadet at the 
Judiciary Square Hospital at Washington for 
si,\ months. He then took the regular course 
at the Harvard Medical School, receiving his 



degree in 1866, and was one year house sur- 
geon at the Massachusetts General Hospital, 
Boston. He practised first at St. Peter, 
Minn., remaining there some thirteen months; 
and the five years following he was engaged 
in professional work in Duxbury, Mass. In 
1874 he returned to the home of his child- 
hood, and for nearly a quarter of a century he 
has worked faithfully among his townspeople, 
fighting disease and death, and winning grat- 
itude, love, and respect. Dr. Pratt is a mem- 
ber of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 
He has been for twenty years a consulting 
physician for the State farm. 

He was married in 1866 to Adelaide l<]d- 
strom, of Boston, and has four children — 
Calvin B., Emily L., Elise A., and Mary B. 
Dr. Pratt votes the Republican ticket. Inter- 
ested in the cause of education, he is Vice- 
President of the Board of Trustees of Bridge- 
water Academy. He is a 'prominent Mason, 
Past Master of Corner Stone Lodge of Dux- 
bury, Mass. 




TTIWELL W. BANKS, machinist, 
is one of the busy men of Brockton, 
that great hive of manufacturing in- 
dustry. He was born at Bear River, Digby 
County, Nova Scotia, February 7, 1866, and 
is a son of Abram and Sarah (Rice) Banks, 
both natives of Nova Scotia. Abram Banks, 
who is a farmer, and is now seventy years of 
age, is still living in his native province. 
He and his wife were blessed with a family 
of ten children, six of whom are living, the 
subject of this biography being next to the 
youngest. 

Ottiwell W. Banks in his youth acquired a 
good education, finishing his studies at the 
Digby High School. For six or seven years 
after leaving school he followed the pursuit of 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



agriculture in the rrovinces, at first on his 
fatiicr's farm, afterward for wages on other 
farms. In 1885 he came to the States, and 
stopped for a while in Boston, hiring from 
there as a farm hand; and one of his engage- 
ments took him to Brockton. lie subse- 
quently obtained employment in tiie machine 
shop of E. A. Stiggins in this city, remain- 
ing six months, antl then went to work in 
Mr. Gray's pattern shop. In 1S92 he became 
a partner of W. L. & II. A. Dunbar, and was 
a member of the firm of W. L. Dunbar & Co., 
until the fall of 1S95, when he sold his inter- 
est to F. D. Kelly. He now has charge of 
their shop, and owns a half interest in the 
patent known as the "second row marker," a 
machine for marking shoes. Mr. Banks is an 
industrious and enterprising man, and relies 
on his own exertions for success. 

He was married in March, 1889, to Miss 
I^lsie Libby, and has two children ^ Daisy 
May and Beulah Mildred. In politics Mr. 
Banks favors the Republican side. He is a 
member of the Second Advent Christian 
church, and has been an Elder for six or seven 
years. 

-I^EVVIS SHERRETT, for a number of 
IJT years a well-known resident of Carver, 
— -^ Plymouth County, Mass., was born 
in England on the 15th of July, 1835. At 
the age of fourteen he began to learn the trade 
of a stone mason, at which he worked in his 
native country until he came to America. 
The voyage, which lasted forty-two days, was 
made on a sailing vessel. He landed at New 
York City, but immediately went to Lonsdale, 
R.I.; and there he worked at his trade for 
eleven months. After that he went to New 
Bedford, Mass., where he remained for two 
years, then to Chicago, St. Louis, and other 
Western cities. These wanderings consumed 



a j)eriod of four years. He then came to 
Carver, his present home, but left almost im- 
mediately and went to Boston, in which and 
other Eastern cities he spent twelve years 
from 1859 to 1871. During this whole period 
he plied his old trade, that of a stone mason, 
some times getting jobs on government 
works. In 1 871 he returned to Carver, where 
he passed the remainder of his days, dying 
October i, 1896. 

He was married in June, 1S56, to Mary T. 
Savery; and they became the parents of three 
children. One of these, a daughter, Susan 
B., born August 7, 1864, died on the 4th of 
October, 1869. The mother, Mrs. Mary 
T. S. Sherrett, died July 31, 1S92. 

William L. Sherrett, son of Mr. and Mrs. 
Lewis Sherrett, was born in Carver, Septem- 
ber 9, 1859. 

He attended the public schools of New Bed- 
ford and of other Eastern cities during his 
youth; and at the end of his school career, 
anxious to earn his living and etlucate him- 
self still further at the same time, he took a 
four years' course at a Massachusetts State 
Normal School. After his graduation on the 
2ist of July, 1882, he taught for three years 
in the public schools of Hull and other towns 
in Massachusetts, and then went to Washing- 
ton, D.C., where he entered the Pension 
liureau of the Department of the Interior as a 
clerk. He was there employetl for five years, 
and during this time prepared himself to enter 
the profession of the law, taking a course of 
study at Georgetown L^niversity. He was 
admitted to the Washington bar in 1SS9. 
While he was in Washington, besides attend- 
ing to his business and the study of law, he 
also studied the science of medicine and sur- 
gery at Howard University, and was graduated 
from there as an M.D. in the year 1890. 

.Mr. William L. Sherrett was a Deputy 



6l2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Grand Master of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and also high up in Masonry, 
as was also his father. He died of consump- 
tion in Florida in i8go; and his remains were 
sent back to Carver, and interred here by the 
Masons. 




ALTER C. HAMMOND, Secretary 
of the School Board of Kingston, 
Mass., -has been for a number of 
years in business in this town as a contractor 
and builder, and is a widely known and highly 
respected citizen. A sou of Asa C. and 
Amanda (Clark) Hammond, he was born in 
Kingston, May 17, 1853. 

Asa C. Hammond, who was born in Pem- 
broke, Mass., and is now in his seventy-sec- 
ond year, has resided in Kingston the greater 
part of his life. He learned the carpenter's 
trade when a young man, and worked at it for 
a number of years, but has now for some time 
been retired. An intelligent and influential 
citizen, he served for an extended period on 
the School Board of Kingston. His wife, 
Mrs. Amanda C. Hammond, was born in 
Plymouth, Mass. They are the parents of the 
following children: Eugene H., who studied 
architecture at Cornell University, and is now 
in business as an architect in New York City; 
Walter C, the subject of this sketch; Isabella 
A. and Chester E., in Kingston. 

Walter C. Hammond was educated in the 
public schools of Kingston. He was em- 
ployed for two years as clerk in the cordage 
works at Plymouth, and then engaged in the 
building trade, starting in business as a con- 
tractor when he was about twenty-two years 
old. He was very successful, and has fol- 
lowed the same line of business for twenty 
years, erecting a great number of private resi- 
dences. Mr. Hammond is essentially a self- 
made man, having carved his own fortune. 



On June 15, 1S7S, he was united in mar- 
riage with Eliza Chandler, daughter of James 
and Mary (Peterson) Chandler, all natives of 
Duxbury, Mass. The Petersons, Mrs. Ham- 
mond's ancestors on the maternal side, were 
old settlers in Duxbury. Her parents reared 
five children: Abbot C, now in Janestown, 
R.I. ; Arthur J., in Plymouth, Mass.; Louisa 
C, wife of John Stegmaier, of Kingston; 
Eliza (Mrs. Hammond); and Elmer C, resid- 
ing in Plymouth. Mrs. Hammond, though 
born in Duxbury, has lived in Kingston since 
she was five years old, and has many friends 
in this town. She is the mother of the fol- 
lowing children : Lester C, James C, Helen 
A., Elizabeth P., Walter C, Jr., Asa C, Jo- 
sephine P., and Lawrence C. 

Mr. Hammond is a member of the Republi- 
can party. He has been for several years on 
the School Board of Kingston, and has been 
Secretary two years. An active Mason, he 
has presided for the past two years as Master 
of Corner Stone Lodge, A. h'. & A. M., of 
Duxbury. 

« *»>■» 

/^STeORGE H. SHAW, 2d, of Middle- 
V pT boro, Mass., is well known in Plym- 
outh County as a retailer of shoes. 
He is in the habit of writing "2d" after his 
name, to distinguish him from another George 
H. Shaw in the same place, who is two or 
three years his senior. Mr. Shaw is a Grand 
Army man, and is proud to claim among his 
kindred other gallant soldiers, patriots of the 
Revolution and of the second war with Eng- 
land. He was born in Carver, Mass., August 
24, 1834, a son of Linus and Dicey (Allen) 
Shaw. 

Many succeeding generations of the Shaw 
family have lived and died in Plymouth 
County, and the name frequently appears in 
the industrial and military records. Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



6-3 



George H. Shaw's great-grandfather was a 
Captain in the Revolutionary army; and his 
grandfather, Captain Joseph Shaw, was an 
officer in the War of 1812. His father, 
Linus Shaw, who was born in Carver, Mass., 
and was a moulder by trade, died in his fifty- 
first year, four years before the opening of the 
Rebellion. Mis wife was the grand-daughter 
of Captain Jacob Allen, a Revolutionary pa- 
triot, who was killed in the battle of Still- 
water (1777). Captain Allen was at that 
time in the flush of vigorous manhood, being 
thirty -eight years of age. Mrs. Dicey Allen 
Shaw lived to the age of fourscore and three. 
She was the mother of si.x children, five of 
whom are living: George H., the subject of 
this sketch; Linus Allen Shaw, chief of 
police of Watertown, Mass., who, as a soldier 
in the Eighteenth Massachusetts Regiment, 
served in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865; 
Jeannette H., residing in Whitman; Arlotha 
M., in East Bridgewater; and Calvin, now in 
Oakland, Cal. 

George H. Shaw was reared in the town of 
Carver, and his early education was limited to 
the common schools of his native place. He 
went to work when fifteen years of age, being 
hired by the month ; and, after his father's 
death, as he was the eldest of the family, the 
care of the household devolved upon him. 
The mutterings of the storm of war stirred the 
patriotic blood in his veins; and he joined 
Company K, Third Massachusetts Volunteer 
Infantry, enlisting for three months. He re- 
mained most of the time at Fortress Monroe; 
and, after receiving his discharge, he enlisted 
again, being enrolled in Company B of the 
same regiment. During his second term of 
service he participated in several important 
engagements, and became familiar with the 
terrible realities of war. In June, 1S63, he 
was honorably discharged; and, returning 



home, he obtained employment in a box-mill, 
with which he was connected some thirteen 
years. He then engaged in the shoe business, 
and, purchasing a wagon, travelled from ])l.icc 
to place, working up a large trade. In this 
way he made many acquaintances, and, while 
accumulating money, acquired a wide knowl- 
edge of human nature. Mr. Shaw is now grad- 
ually retiring from business. 

In 1865 he was married to Miss Carrie B. 
Griffith, of Carver. This union has been 
blessed with two children, one of whom, 
Nellie M., is living. Mr. Shaw votes the 
Republican ticket. He joined the E. W.* 
Pierce Encampment, of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, in 1867, and has presided as 
Officer of the Day, Senior Commander, in fact, 
has held most of the offices within the gift of 
Post No. 8 of Middleboro. 




XDREW D. Di:\i:\HCK, senior mem- 
l)er of the firm of Dimmick& Perkins, 
dealers in gentlemen's furnishing 
goods, Brockton, Mass., is a native of Barn- 
stable County. He was born February 24, 
1S57, in the town of Falmouth, son of Charles 
William and Esther (Robinson) Dimmick. 

In the old country, long, long ago, this sur- 
name was spelled Dymoke; and a certain 
knight who bore it was famous as the champion 
of England. The first of the family in Mas- 
sachusetts, so far as known, was Colonel Dim- 
mick, an American oflficer in the Revolution, 
who by stratagem captured an English frigate 
off the coast of Weymouth. Among the inter- 
esting papers treasured by his descendants are 
several containing the signature of Washing- 
ton. 

Charles Dimmick, father of Charles William, 
was I)orn in I'almouth; and for many years 
he followed the sea, being for some time the 



6i4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



captain of a vessel. He passed his declining 
years on a farm in Falmouth, where he died at 
seventy-nine years of age. He was not active 
in public affairs, never caring for office. He 
belonged to the First Congregational Church 
of Falmouth. His children, all now deceased, 
were: a daughter, Mercy, wife of "Captain H. 
Lawrence; Charles William; and another son, 
who died in California. 

Charles William Dimmick was educated in 
the district schools of his native town, Fal- 
mouth. Preferring to be a landsman rather 
than a sailor, and having a natural bent for 
mechanics, he learned the carpenter's trade, 
becoming a skilful workman and a master 
builder, and thereafter successfully engaged 
in business as a contractor. He died in 1890, 
aged sixty-eight years. He was a member of 
the First Congregational Church of Braintree. 
His wife, Esther, was a daughter of Fessen- 
den Robinson, of East Falmouth. They had 
four children, namely: a daughter, Mercy; 
and three sons — -Thomas, William, and An- 
drew D. Thomas and William died in in- 
fancy. Mercy Dimmick married Frank G. 
Hunt, of Weymouth, and died in 1892, at the 
age of twenty-seven years. 

Andrew D. Dimmick was the youngest- 
born, and is now the only surviving child of 
his parents. He was educated at Lawrence 
Academy, Falmouth, and at G. A. Sawyer's 
Commercial College, where he took a business 
course. He then became an entry clerk in a 
wholesale pottery house in Boston ; and later 
on he entered the employ of Edward Young, 
wholesale dealer in shoe findings in that city, 
first making himself generally useful about 
the establishment, and then spending two 
years on the road as a travelling salesman, 
going through New England. After that, for 
about a year, he travelled for S. A. White, of 
Boston, manufacturer of shoe dressing, the 



next twelvemonth finding him engaged in the 
office of Russell's Mercantile Agency in Bos- 
ton as correspondent for the Southern and 
Western States. After working at book-keep- 
ing in the clothing house of Howard Cald- 
well, of Brockton, during the ensuing five 
years, he formed a copartnership with I^'red 
Tucker, and under the name of Tucker & 
Dimmick opened a gentlemen's furnishing 
store at Holyoke, Mass. Returning to Brock- 
ton one year later, Mr. Dimmick again went 
into the store of Howard & Caldwell, this 
time as clerk in their furnishing department. 
In October, 1894, after eleven years of valu- 
able experience, Mr. Dimmick resigned his 
position in the employ of Messrs. Howard & 
Caldwell, and, in company with Jesse F. Per- 
kins, opened a furnishing goods store at his 
present place. It is now two years since; and 
their business in this period has so increased 
that they carry four times as much stock as 
when they started, their establishment being 
the largest in its line of trade in the county. 
They employ eight clerks in the evening. 

Mr. Dimmick is a member of the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks, Brockton 
Lodge, No. 16, of which he has been Secre- 
tary; and is also connected with the Royal 
Arcanum. He married in 1880 Carrie L., 
daughter of Freeman Shiverick. They have 
three children, namely: Esther Nye, fifteen 
years of age; Clifford Shiverick, ten; and 
Herbert Russell, two years. 



~^LJI1U THAYER, a retired gentleman 
Jpl of Hingham, Plymouth County, Mass., 
was born in Quincy, Mass., October 
25, 181 1, son of Elihu and Elizabeth (Savil) 
Thayer. His father was a resident of Quincy, 
and a carpenter by trade. He married Eliza- 
beth Savil, and they had four children: 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



6-5 



Elihii, the subject of this biography; Allicrt, 
of Oiiincy; Ilirani, of Worcester, Mass.; and 
Lucy, who resides at Quincy. The father 
died at the age of seventy-two years. 

Klihu Thayer had limited educational ad- 
vantages, attending school but three months 
in tlie winter and four in the summer, accord- 
ing to the custom of that time. Going to 
Dorchester at the age of fourteen, he found 
employment in a general store and pul)lic 
house at Neponset. Early in life he came to 
Ilingham to work in a mercantile establish- 
ment; and here he led a life of constant activ- 
ity until about three years ago, when he re- 
tired. He has accumulated a goodly share of 
this world's goods, being the owner of several 
business houses in this town. Like other 
men who have been financially successful, he 
has worked his way from small beginnings. 
In politics at first a Wliig, in these later 
years he has afifiliated with the Republican 
party. 

On January 17, 1836, Mr. Thayer was 
united in marriage with Susan Mersey, a 
daughter of Isaac and Lydia (Stowell) Her- 
sey. She was born in Ilingham on August 27, 
181 1. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have three chil- 
dren, namely: Albert Elihu; Susan Anne 
Frances, wife of Charles Burr; and Charles 
Marion. Albert E. Thayer, born here Janu- 
ary 28, 1839, became a grocer, and resided on 
Lincoln Street. On December 7, 1865, he 
married Harriet Davis Weston, who was born 
November 27, 1837, daughter of Coomer and 
Sally S. (Eddy) Weston, of Plymouth. Three 
children were the result of their union: Ed- 
ward Weston, Harriet Blanche, and Anna 
Everett. Albert E. Thayer died on March 7, 
1885. Charles Marion Thayer was born in 
Ilingham, September 2, 1852; and on Janu- 
ary 28, 1880, he married Ida I)., daughter of 
John D. Kcmington. By this marriage there 



is one daughter, Susie Burton Thayer. In re- 
ligious faith Mr. and Mrs. I']lihu Thayer 
are Universal ists. They reside on South 
Street, their life's evening cheered and 
bles.sed by the frequent presence of children 
and <rrandchildren. 




ARLES S. SMITH, agent of the 
Goodyear Shoe Machinery Company 
at l^rockton, and a machinist by 
trade, was born at North Andover, Mass., De- 
cember 20, 1S60, and is a son of Francis 
Smith. His father, who was a sea captain 
for a number of years, still lives, having now 
nearly reached the age of threescore and ten. 
He has four children, three sons and a 
tlaughter. 

Charles S., the special subject of this 
sketch, in his boyhood attended the public 
schools of Andover. At the age of si.xtccn 
he entered the employ of the McKay Sewing 
Machine Company at Providence, R. I.; and 
after .some time there he left to take a cour.se 
in mechanical engineering at the Ma.s.sachu- 
setts Institute of Technology in Boston. En- 
tering the service of George Corliss, of the 
Corliss Engine Works, as machinist, he was 
subsequently made their representative on the 
road. Three years later he accepted a posi- 
tion as engineer with the I'-di.son Electric 
Light Company at Lawrence, Mass., and 
worked in that capacity for about a year. Fol- 
lowing that, he again entered the employ of 
the McKay Sewing Machine Company, but 
after a time resigned his position to associate 
himself in 1889 with the Goodyear Shoe .Ma- 
chinery Company as their agent; and he has 
been in that position ever since. Mr. Smith 
and his wife, who is a native of Eastport, 
Me., have one child. Mr. .Smith is a member 
of Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, Independent 



6i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Order of Odd F"ellows, of Brockton; and of 
the Brockton Commercial Club. 



tLBERT M. THAYER, senior member 
of the mercantile firm of A. M. 
^_^ ^ Thayer & Son, of West Duxbury, is 

a veteran of the Civil War, and an ex-Repre- 
sentative to the Massachusetts legislature. 
He was born in Mansfield, Bristol County, 
Mass., September 13, 1S36, son of Simeon 
and Martha (Fuller) Thayer. Members of 
the Thayer family were early settlers in Bris- 
tol County; and Simeon Thayer resided in 
Mansfield until his death, which took place 
when his son Albert M. was thirteen years 
old. His wife was a daughter of Isaac 
Fuller, of Mansfield, who was a descendant of 
Captain Isaac Fuller. 

Albert M. Thayer, being thrown upon his 
own resources at an early age, was brought up 
by his brother-in-law, John Mason, of Pem- 
broke. He acquired a common-school educa- 
tion ; and at the age of eighteen he went to 
Hanson, where he served an apprenticeship of 
two years at the tack-maker's trade with Na- 
thaniel Pratt, another brother-in-law, who 
carried on a tack manufactory. After work- 
ing as a journeyman in Hanson for a number 
of years, he went to Whitman, Mass., where 
he followed his trade until October, 1862, 
when he enlisted in the Fourth Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was 
assigned to duty in the Regimental Band. 
He was present at the siege and capture of 
Port Hudson, and accompanied General Banks 
upon the Red River expedition; and at the 
first-mentioned engagement he sustained a 
severe sunstroke, which threatened serious 
consequences. With good medical treatment 
he ultimately recovered, and was discharged 
from the service in September, 1863. 



Returning to Whitman, he resumed his 
trade, and later became travelling representa- 
tive of the firm of Brightman, Litchfield & 
Vinand, for whom he had previously worked 
as a journeyman. Four years later he en- 
gaged in the dry-goods business in Whitman, 
which he conducted for four years; and from 
the end of that time until 1881 he sold dry- 
goods and notions upon the road. In that 
year he located in West Duxbury, and estab- 
lished the present firm of A. M. Thayer & 
Son. This concern does a large and profit- 
able business, dealing in dry goods, clothing, 
small wares, boots, shoes, furniture, carpets, 
paper hangings, etc. ; and, as their patronage 
extends over a wide circuit, they have devel- 
oped an extensive trade, which their honor- 
able business methods enable them to steadily 
maintain. 

Mr. Thayer was for several years a member 
of the Republican Town Committee, and in 
1885 represented the towns of Duxbury, 
Kingston, and Plympton in the Massachusetts 
legislature. His honorable record as a busi- 
ness man gives him a valuable prestige in 
mercantile centres, and his high standing in 
the community is the result of his natural 
ability and upright principles. 

Mr. Thayer married Josephine B. Sampson, 
of Pembroke, Mass., and has two children, 
namely: La Forest, who is in business with 
his father; and Emily, who is residing at 
home. Mr. Thayer is a member of Kingston 
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Whitman; and a 
comrade of Post Wadsworth, No. iii, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of Duxbury. 




'RANK M. REYNOLDS, of Hull, 
Mass., a competent house painter, was 
born in Boston, September 12, 1861, 
son of Frank M., Sr., and Elizabeth A. 



BIOGRAI'IIICAL REVIEW 



6.7 



(Racy) Reynolds. His paternal j;raiulfathcr, 
William 11. Reynolds, was a native of Deiry, 
N.H., where he lived on a farm. In politics 
he was a Republican. lie ami his wife, 
Ellen Adams, of that town, were highly re- 
spected members of the Metiiodist I^piscopal 
church. They had four children. 

Their .son, Frank M., Sr., was born in 
Derry, and, after acquiring his education, 
went to Boston at the age of eighteen, to 
make his fortune. Until the breaking out of 
the Civil War he was engaged as a teamster, 
h'nlisting in the Third Massachusetts Hattery 
in (861, he served till the close of the war, 
being in active service most of the time. 
Among the noted battles in which he took 
]xut were Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Lookout 
Mountain. On his return from the war he 
resumed his old business, teaming for the 
large market in Boston. He was a hard-work- 
ing man, and acquired a competency for those 
days. He married Elizabeth A. Raey, a na- 
tive of Portland, Me. In jjolitics he was a 
Republican; and in religion he antl his wife 
were of the Methodist faitli, and were both 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
He died at thb age of forty-nine, survived by 
his wife, who is a resident of Brighton, Mass., 
and in good health, and by l""r.ink M., their 
only child. 

After he was graduated from the Cambridge 
High School, Frank M. Reynolds learned the 
trade of house painter; and in 1878 he settled 
in Hull, where he has continued the business 
ever since. He lias been ])roniinently identi- 
fied with town affairs, having officiated as 
Constable twelve years, and being now a mem- 
ber of the police force. For the past five 
years he has been Captain of the fire depart- 
ment ; and in 1894 he was appointed Post- 
master, which office he still holils. I'rater- 
nally, he belongs to the American Order of 



Red Men of IJoston and to the Pilgrim 
Fathers Lodge of Hingham. In November, 
1884, he was married to Mary E. Fitts, of 
Charlestown, Mass. They have had three 
children — Frank M., Jr., Victor IL, and 
Pearl G. In religion Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds 
affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church, 
of which they arc active members. 




HARLES SIMMONS at the present 
time is successfully engaged in gen- 

i^S eral farming in a small way in Nor- 

well, Plymouth County, Mass., but in years 
gone by was prominently identified with the 
fire department of the city of Bo.ston. He was 
born December 8, 1825. in Norwell, then 
South Scituate. His parents were Sylvanus 
and lilizabeth (Wheelwright) Simmons, who 
had seven other sons and two daughters. 

The first fifteen years of his life Charles 
Simmons passed with his parents on the 
homestead farm, which he then left to try the 
life of a sailor for two years. He next went 
to Boston, and, after serving a five years' ap- 
prenticeship at the carpenter's trade, took up 
the ship-joinery business, at which he was 
profitably engaged for twenty-si.\ years. For 
a like period, from 184S to 1874, he was a 
member of the Boston Fire Department, be- 
longing to Hook and Ladder Division No. 2, 
of which he was foreman twenty years. This 
was the second fire company organized in the 
city of Boston. While connected with it, Mr. 
Simmons went through the great fire of 1873, 
which destroyed a large part of the business 
centre of the city. In 1876 he came to Nor- 
well, and purchased the forty-si.\-acre farm 
which he now owns and carries on. From 
1884-85 he was a Selectman of Norwell. 
He has served five years as Highway Sur- 
veyor, and also acceptably filled the offices of 



6i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. 

Mr. Simmons was married in 1847 to Miss 
Susan Seavey. They have had eight children, 
of whom six are now living. 




ARR1':N PEIRCi:, M.D., one of 
the leading medical practitioners of 
Plymouth, and a veteran of the 
Civil War, was born in Tyngsboro, Mass.,- 
September 21, 1840, son of Dr. Augustus and 
Alicia O. (Butterfield) Peirce. 

Genealogists speak of this name as a com- 
mon one in England, and spelled in many 
differents ways, as Piers, Peirce, Peers, 
Pearce, Piercy, and other forms. The Earls 
of Northumberland, a very ancient house, de- 
rive their name "Percy," it is said, from 
Percy Forest in Normandy, their original seat. 
Several of the representatives of the Peirce 
family in America have been more or less 
celebrated. President Franklin Pierce, it is 
said, was a kinsman of Dr. Warren Peirce's 
grandfather, whose wife was related to 
Artemas Ward. The Doctor is also de- 
scended from the Farrars. 

Augustus Peirce, son of the Rev. Warren 
Peirce and father of the subject of this sketch, 
was born in New Salem, Mass., March 20, 
1803. His elementary studies were acquired 
under a private tutor; and, when very young, 
he entered Harvard, where he was graduated 
previous to attaining his majority, being the 
youngest member of his class. During his 
collegiate course he displayed rare literary 
gifts, which attracted the notice of the profes- 
sors and the outside world; and he wrote while 
in his Senior year a humorous epic poem, 
entitled "The Rebellia, " which had the honor 
of being mentioned by the Harvard Register. 
The original manuscript is now preserved at 



the Harvard Library. He maintained through 
life a deep interest in literature, and was a 
frequent contributor to the Xe%o England 
Gazette. After graduating from college, he 
studied medicine with Dr. George C. Shat- 
tuck, of Boston, some time later locating for 
practice in Nashua; and in 1839, at the re- 
quest of Dr. Thomas, he removed from there 
to Tyngsboro, where he resided until his 
death, which took place May 20, 1849. He 
joined the Boylston Medical Society in 1822, 
and was also a member of the Massachusetts 
State Medical Society. Dr. Augustus Peirce 
was twice married; and by his union with his 
first wife, Mary Clark, a ward of the elder 
George C. Shattuck, of Boston, he had three 
children. His second wife, Alicia O. Butter- 
field, daughter of Joseph Butterfield, who was 
Deputy Sheriff in Lowell, Mass., for nearly 
fifty years, became the mother of five children, 
of whom Warren, the subject of this sketch, 
was the second-born. 

Warren Peirce attended Winslow Academy, 
where he completed the usual course of study, 
later fitting for college under the tutorship 
of Nathaniel Cootheran; and, after spending 
some time with his grandfather in Lowell, he 
studied medicine for a year with Dr. Edward 
A. Perkins, of Boston. On July 29, 1862, he 
enlisted as a private in Company K, Four- 
teenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, 
which later became known as the P^irst Massa- 
chusetts Heavy Artillery; and three weeks 
after his enlistment he was detailed as Hos- 
pital Steward, in which capacity he served for 
nearly two years. He was then appointed 
Second Lieutenant in the Thirty-si.xth United 
States Colored Infantry, stationed at Point 
Lookout, where fifty thousand prisoners, in- 
cluding the Confederate, General J. B. B. 
Stewart, were confined; and in July, 1864, 
his regiment was attached to the Twenty-fifth 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



"9 



Corps, and onlorLHl to the front at IVtcrsburt,^ 
Lieutenant I'circc rL'niaincd at the jirincipal 
seat of operations, wliicli finally culminated in 
the surrender of General Lee at ;\p])omattox 
Court-house; and, cominj; up in the rear of 
the Confederate Army, he was the thirt! i-'ed- 
eral soldier to enter Richmond. 11 is regi- 
ment was then stationed along the Weklon 
Railroad for a while, later going to Lincoln 
Camp at Light-house Point, from which place 
it was ordered to Texas, where it remained for 
a considerable length of time. Lieutenant 
I'eirce received his discharge from the service 
October 28, 1866, having been in active duty 
nearly every day since his enlistment; and the 
only injuries he received were a slight wound 
in his little finger, and another in his leg. 
Upon his return from the army he resumed 
the study of medicine with Dr. John G. Met- 
calf; and after graduating from the Harvard 
Medical School, March 10, 1869, he in 1870 
began the practice of his profession in Sterl- 
ing, Mass. Removing to West Hoylston in 
1873, he remained there until iSSo, when he 
took up his residence in Plymouth, where he 
has practised with the most gratifying success 
for the past sixteen years. 

On October 10, 1867, Dr. Peirce was united 
in marriage with Anna Warren Hastings, 
youngest child of C. P. Hastings, a prominent 
lawyer of Worcester County, and a niece of 
the Hon. William S. Hastings, formerly a 
member of Congress from this State. Dr. an<l 
Mrs. Peirce have two sons living, namely: 
Arthur W. K.. who is now in South .Africa, 
wiiere he is electrical engineer at the Limmer 
and Jack Gokl Mine, which is the largest of 
its kind in the world; and Thomas Hastings 
Gage Peirce, a graduate of the Plymouth High 
School, who is now willi the P'lectric Light 
Company iiere. 

In politics Dr. Peirce is a Democrat, and 




while resiiling in Sterling he was a member of 
the Hoard of Health. He has been for several 
years a member of the Massachusetts Medical 
Society, of which he was at one time a Coun- 
sellor; was a comrade of James A. Pratt Post, 
Grand Army of tlie Republic, of Sterling, 
which he named, later joining George A. 
Wells Post at Boylston; was connected with 
Centennial Lodge, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, of West Boylston, and has advanced 
in Masonry to the Knight Templar degree, 
having been a member of Worcester Com- 
mandery. 

ARRLN A. HOWARD, formerly a 
shoe manufacturer, now a retired 
farmer of Brockton, was born in 
North Bridgewater, now Brockton, in Decem- 
ber, 1839. ^J*^ is a son of Darius Howard, a 
prominent business man, who is still living 
here. 

Warren A. How;irti, after attending public 
schools in his native town, completed his edu- 
cation at a private school in Medford, where he 
was graduated. ICntering his father's factory 
in 185S, he remained three years; and in 1861 
he began the manufacture of shoes, managing 
the plant alone for two years, then becoming 
associated with D. S. Howard, under the 
style of D. S. & W. A. Howard. Seven years 
later he built a factory on Crescent Street, 
where he remained twenty years, being one of 
the first men to introduce machine work in 
the city, using the first McKay Sewing Ma- 
chine. In 1890 Mr. Howard retired to his 
farm, where he has resided ever since. 

He was united in marriage with M. .\gnes, 
daughter of Lorenzo Stetson, of Kingston, in 
1862. They have three children, one of 
whom married Dr. Ripley. One son, a grad- 
uate of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology, is now employed by the Lrie Railroad 



620 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



as civil engineer. In politics Mr. Howard is 
a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member 
of Paul Revere Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Sa- 
tucket Royal Arch Chapter, and also Bay 
State Commandery, Knights Templars. 



|-;^KRNARD CLANCY, one of the 
brave "boys in blue" who fought 
in the Civil War for the preserva- 
tion of the Union and the freedom of the 
slave, and who is now a resident of Middle- 
boro, Mass., is a native of this town, having 
been born here, August 25, 1842. 

In his infancy Bernard Clancy was taken 
by his parents to Boston, where he grew to 
manhood and was educated. When si.xteen 
years of age, he began working at cabinet-mak- 
ing, which he followed in Boston for nine 
months, and then in Springfield, Mass., for a 
like period. Returning to Boston, he was 
engaged in carpentering until 1861, when he 
enlisted in Company E of the " Roxbury 
Rifles." They first went to Fort Indepen- 
dence, and afterward were made a part of the 
Thirteenth Massachusetts Regiment. Mr. 
Clancy subsequently joined Company D of 
the Eighteenth Massachusetts Volunteers. 

The first engagement in which he took part 
was at Fairfax Court-house; and from that 
time on he was present at every battle in 
which the Army of the Potomac took part, 
until at Chancellorsville, May, 1863, he was 
made prisoner. He was taken to Libby 
Prison. After fifty-si.x days' confinement 
there, days of extreme privation and suffering, 
he and another soldier succeeded in getting 
out, and he rejoined his regiment the 5th of 
July. At the battle of Bull Run he received 
a bullet wound in the right leg above the 
ankle. A few hours later he was struck by a 
shell, and on regaining consciousness found 



himself a prisoner. He was first taken to 
Robinson's tavern, where he remained three 
days, then to Lynchburg for a few days, and 
from there to Orange Court-house. He was 
next confined in Downsville, N. C, and a few 
days later taken to Andersonville Prison, 
where he was kept from May i to September 
30, when he again began his enforced journey- 
ings from one Rebel prison to another, going 
first to Florence. From there he succeeded 
in making an escape, but only to be recaptured 
and taken to Salisbury, N.C., and thence to 
Mobile, Ala. The same night of his arrival 
in Mobile, he again succeeded in eluding his 
captors, but was retaken. Undaunted by his 
former fruitless attempts, he made a third 
trial, which proved successful, and he wended 
his way on foot to the Northern Army, finally 
reaching it in safety. 

After his honorable discharge, May 23, 
1865, Mr. Clancy returned to Massachusetts, 
and went to Waltham, but was unable to per- 
form any labor until the fall of the ne.xt year, 
when he went to work in the Waltham woollen 
factory. In 1885 he came to Middleboro, and 
purchased the homestead on which he now re- 
sides, a farm of thirty-five acres. He is a re- 
spected member of Post No. 8, Grand Army 
of the Republic, of Middleboro; also of the 
Union Veteran's Union, in which he is "Colo- 
nel of the command." 




LFRED HENRY HERSEY, a well- 
known summer resident of Hingham, 
Mass., was born in Boston, April 
18, 1 84 1, son of Alfred C. and Mary Ann 
(Barrett) Kersey. He is a lineal descendant 
of William Hersey, who settled in Hingham 
in 1635. Laban Hersey, father of Alfred C, 
was a native of Hingham and a tanner, his 
plant being located on the land now owned by 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



621 



Alfred Ilcnry, the subject of this biography. 
In politics he was a Whig, and he served as 
Captain of the militia. He married Cclia 
Barnes, daughter of Cornelius IJarnes; and 
they had eight children. Laban Hersey died 
at the age of seventy-eight, while his wife 
lived to be eighty-nine years old. In relig- 
ious belief they were Unitarians. 

Alfred C. , their youngest son, was a native 
of this town. For the first few years of his 
commercial career he was engaged in the dry- 
goods business, thereafter becoming a ship- 
owner in Hoston, and trading with the liast 
Indies and Soutiiern ports. He built two 
vessels in Hingiiam, at one time being owner 
in over forty vessels. In 1866 he retired, con- 
tinuing to spend his winters in Boston and 
tiie summers in Hingham, where he owned 
one hundred and fifty acres of land, and car- 
ried on farming. In [lolitics he was a Repub- 
lican, but he was not prominent in political 
affairs. In his younger days he served as 
Captain of the militia. He was a Director of 
the United States Insurance Company, also a 
Trustee of the Nautical School Ship; and he 
built the South Shore Railroad in 1849, be- 
coming its first president, and being for seven 
years the largest stockholder. Mr. Hersey 
was also a Director of the Hingham Steamboat 
Company for several years. In Boston he was 
an extensive holder of real estate, being one 
of the largest owners on Commercial Wharf, 
where his office was located for twenty years; 
and he was also lessee of Mercantile Wharf 
during that time. I'inancially, he was very 
successful, leaving a large property at his de- 
mise. He married Mary Ann Barrett; and 
they had one child, Alfred Henry. They 
were Unitarians in religion. Mr. Alfred C. 
Hersey died at the age of eighty-four: and his 
wife, when she was seventy-four. 

Alfred Henry Hersey in his early years 



attended Chauncy Hall School, Boston, and 
later completed his education at Dummer 
Academy in Byfield, Mass. He then entered 
his father's employ, remaining four years, 
when ill-health compelled him to .seek past- 
ures new. He then began farming on the old 
homestead in Hingham, to which he gladly 
returns each summer from his home in Boston. 
He employs several men, who work the farm 
under his supervision. In politics Mr. Her- 
sey affiliates with the Democratic party. 
Fraternally, he is identified with various or- 
ganizations, among them the Agricultural ami 
Horticultural Society of Hingham, the Mas.sa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society, the New Eng- 
land Historical Society, and the Boston ian 
Society. He is a Trustee of the Pilgrim So- 
ciety of Plymouth, Mass. Personally, he is a 
man of quick perception, and is a great lover 
of literature, owning a fine library, in which 
he spends considerable time. 

On March 1, 1862, he was united in mar- 
riage to Mary H. Gibson, of New Ipswich, 
N. H., a daughter of Dr. Henry Gibson. By 
this alliance there were two children, both of 
whom are dead. In religion Mr. and Mrs. 
Hersey are of the Unitarian faith. 




R1:D L. SPRAGUK, D.D.S., a suc- 
cessful and popular dentist of Rock- 
land, Mass., is the only son of Frank- 
lin and Sarah E. (Farrar) Sprague, and was 
born in Boston. Franklin Sprague was a na- 
tive of Hingham, and his wife also was born 
in Plymouth County. They became the par- 
ents of two children: Helen I'rancis who is 
the wife of Charles Emsen; and Fred L. Dr. 
Sprague's father is at present living in Han- 
over, Mass., where he is a special agent for a 
large life insurance company. 

Fred L. Sprague spent the greater part of 



622 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



his youth in Boston, where he enjoyed the 
best of opportunities for obtaining a good edu- 
cation. He was graduated from the grammar 
schools, and subsequently from the English 
High School of that city. Having marked 
musical talent, he was sent by his father to 
the Boston Conservatory of Music, where he 
studied for a long time, acquiring great profi- 
ciency in the art. Unfortunately, he now has 
little time to devote to this accomplishment. 
In 1889, the same year that he left the Con- 
servatory of Music with graduation honors, he 
began the study of dentistry at the Boston 
Dental College. On coming to Rockland, he 
entered the office of Dr. Saville, where he re- 
mained for a period of two years. He then 
opened an office of his own, and, establishing 
himself on an independent basis, has built up 
a successful practice within a very short time. 
He keeps abreast of all modern ideas and im- 
provements, and his business has increased to 
such an extent that he is usually obli«»ed to 
employ two assistants. 

Dr. Sprague is a stanch Republican in his 
political principles, although he will not con- 
sent to take any active part in politics. Fra- 
ternally, he belongs to the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen of Rockland. 



t1j:7\0BERT T. C. SPOONER, plumber, 
I S^ steam and gas fitter, with place of 
ly \_^ business at 257 Main Street, Brock- 
ton, was born in New Bedford, Mass., March 
29, 1863. His father, Benjamin Spooner, 
was born in Newport, R.I. In his early anan- 
hood he was a tallow chandler, and the latter 
part of his life was spent on a farm in West- 
port, Mass. He attended worship at the Bap- 
tist church. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Allen, is a native of Westport, Mass. 
She is the mother of two children, namely: 



Robert T. C. ; and a sister, who is married 
and lives in New Bedford. 

Robert T. C. Spooner was educated in the 
common schools of Westport. He went to 
work at the age of sixteen as a farm hand in 
Westport, and after six months of agricultural 
labor began to learn the plumber's trade. He 
served an apprenticeship with Wood Bright- 
man, of Westport, remaining six months 
longer than the required time, and then en- 
tered the employ of R. G. Shepard, of Brock- 
ton, with whom he remained six years. 
Forming a partnership then with Mr. Fred 
Brown, under the name of Brown & Spooner, 
he was in business for six months on Centre 
Street. Then, purchasing his partner's in- 
terest, he removed to the building now occu- 
pied by the Brockton Times, and there for 
four or five years he managed a growing and 
prosperous business. On New Year's Day, 
1895, he opened his present establishment to 
the public, who continue to give him a liberal 
patronage. When Mr. Spooner started in 
business he and his partner did all the work 
themselves. He now employs twelve men on 
an average, plumbing, gas fitting, and set- 
ting up heating apparatus. Some of the larg- 
est contracts in the city have been awarded 
him, including the plumbing in the W. L. 
Douglas factory, and that in C. C. Merritt's 
new residence, for which he received two 
thousand dollars. A careful and reliable 
workman, he takes pains to satisfy his pa- 
trons, and the success which he has achieved 
is honestly earned. 

Mr. Spooner was married on Thanksgiving 
Day, 1886, to Myra, daughter of Seth Delano, 
of East Fairhaven, Mass. Politically, he 
favors the Republican party, but has inde- 
pendent views, and votes for the candidate 
best calculated to further the interests of the 
people. He is a member of Massasoit Lodge, 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



623 



No. 69, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; 
and belongs to the New ICnglnnd Order of 
Protection. 




I:NRY M. BOSWORTH, a repre- 
sentative citizen of the town of Hali- 
L^ V ^ fax, Plymouth County, where he is 
engaged in farming and conducts a saw-mill, 
was born here, September 11, 1840. His par- 
ents were Martin and Susan (Post) Hosworth, 
the mother a native of Virginia. They had 
one other son, Daniel O., and the two brothers 
are in partnership. By a previous marriage 
with Miss Mary Churchill, their father had 
two children — Mary E. and Seba S. 

Henry M. Bosworth acquired his education 
in the public schools of Halifax and at Plymp- 
ton Academy. When eighteen years of age 
he went to work at the butcher's trade, which 
he followed for three years. He then settled 
on a farm near the Halifax post-office, remov- 
ing from there to a place near his mills, and 
a few years later coming to the homestead 
farm, which he has occupied for the past 
siventeen years. It contains about fifty acres, 
and he and his brother own together about six 
hundred acres, mostly woodland. Mr. Bos- 
worth purchased his saw-mill in 1878, since 
which time, in company with his brother, he 
has carried on a large business in getting out 
box-boards. 

Mr. Bosworth was married in December, 
1873, to Miss Julia Washburn. They have no 
living children, the only child born to them 
having died in infancy. 



VOTHROP C. KING, a retired master 
mechanic residing in Plymouth, 
Mass., was born in this town, Feb- 
ruary 3, 181 5, a son of Obadiah and Nancy 
(Clark) King. 




His father followed the trade of carpenter- 
ing at Manomet, Mass., for many years. He 
and his wife, Mrs. Nancy Clark King, had a 
family of six children, four sons and two 
daughters, of whom the subject of this biog- 
rapiiy is the only survivor. 

Lothrop C. King passed his early years at 
the paternal home at Manomet, a part of the 
town of Plymouth, and obtained his education 
in the common schools. Commencing at the 
age of fourteen to work for his father at car- 
pentering, he continued with him for about 
two years. Energetic, capable, and ambi- 
tious, in his seventeenth year he embarked in 
a business career for himself; and at the age 
of twenty-one he migrated to the State of 
Louisiana, where he prosecuted his calling for 
five years. Returning then to Plymouth, he 
engaged in building and contracting for sev- 
eral years; and in 1854 he entered the employ- 
ment of the Russell Mills Company, in which 
he acted as the general mechanic of the factory 
until 1889. Since that time he has been liv- 
ing a retired life. 

Mr. King wedded Miss Nancy P. Morton, 
and to them were born four children, all of 
whom are still living. They are as follows: 
Nancy P., Helen A., Mary L., and Clara P. 
In religious faith and sympathy Mr. King is 
at one with the Congregational church of 
Plymouth, of which he is a member. 



/^Tkc^RGK T. fearing, a success- 
V ji) I ful farmer of llingham, Plymouth 
County, Mass. , was born here, Febru- 
ary 7, 1834, son of John and Mercy B. (Fear- 
ing) I'caring. His paternal grandfather, Abel 
Fearing, was a native of llingham, where he 
was an extensive land-owner and farmer. 
John, the father of George J., learned the 
wheelwright's trade, which he followed for 



624 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



many years, until he lost his eyesight, there- 
after engaging in farming. In politics he 
afifiliated for some time with the Democratic 
party, afterward became a Free Soiler, and 
later was identified with the Republicans. He 
was a Surveyor of Highways for many years. 
His wife, Mercy B. Fearing, died at seventy- 
eight years of age; and he, surviving her 
about a year, attained the age of fourscore. 
They were both members of the Unitarian 
cliurch, and always able and willing to do all 
they could to promote its growth and prosper- 
ity. They had seven children, but three of 
whom are living — Mercy B. , John C, and 
George J. Mercy married David Cobb, of 
this town, and has four children — David, 
Jr., Henry H,, George W. , and Mercy B. 
John C. Fearing married Mary S. Doane, of 
Scituate. They have no children. 

George J. Fearing, after acquiring his edu- 
cation in the Hingham schools, worked on the 
paternal farm, where he has remained ever 
since. He owns fifty acres of land, twenty of 
which are under cultivation, the special crop 
being hay. In politics he is a member of the 
Republican party, and he has been Surveyor 
for many years. He is very industrious, as 
his fine farm testifies, and is highly esteemed 
by his neighbors and the community at large. 
In the autumn of 1861 he was united in mar- 
riage with Lydia L. Gushing, daughter of 
Stephen and Elizabeth Gushing, of Hingham. 




kARGUS ATWOOD, a prosperous 
farmer of the town of Garver, is a 
native of Middleboro, Plymouth 
County. He was born July 17, 1827, son of 
Levi and Bethia (Shurtleff) Atwood. His 
mother was a daughter of Captain Gideon 
.Shurtleff. His paternal grandfather was Sam- 
uel, son of William Atwood. 



Levi Atwood was an iron moulder by trade. 
He died at seventy-nine years of age, and his 
wife at fifty-eight. They were the parents of 
thirteen children, namely: Elbridge (de- 
ceased); Levi, who died in 1893; Patience, 
wife of David Vaughn; Bethia and Stephen 
(twins), both deceased; Lucy, widow of David 
Jenkins; Elkanah ; Rasanda (deceased); Mar- 
cus; Martin, who died in 1891; Betsey, wife 
of Josiah Kennicut; Laura, .who died in 1884; 
and a child that died in infancy. 

Marcus Atwood spent his early years in the 
town of Middleboro, and at the age of thirteen 
began working on a farm, his wages going to 
his parents until he was twenty-one. On at- 
taining his majority, he came to Carver, and 
entered the employ of Jesse Murdock as a 
farm hand. He continued thus engaged until 
Mr. Murdock' s death, between twenty-five 
and thirty years later, and has lived there 
since. Mr. Atwood owns land in Middleboro 
and Carver, his property comprising from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred acres, situ- 
ated in different places. For several years he 
has served as Fire Warden of Carver. He is 
not a party politician, but is accustomed to 
vote for the candidates whom he considers best 
qualified for the respective duties of the vari- 
ous positions to be filled. 



G^OIIN SMITH, Superintendent of Streets, 
and one of the Selectmen of Hull, 
Plymouth County, Mass., was born 
here, May 15, 1857, son of John H. and 
Letitia (McGinness) Smith. His father, a 
seafaring man, came to America from Ger- 
many, and, settling in this town, has since en- 
gaged in freighting and fishing business. In 
politics he affiliates with the Democratic 
party, and he has been one of the Park Com- 
missioners several years. He was twice mar- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



C25 



ried, Lctitia McGinness, tlic mother of tlic 
subject of this biography, being his sccontl 
wife. She has had five chiiciren, three of 
whom arc now living — l-lsther C, Jennie C, 
and John. Esther C. Smith married John L. 
Mitchell, and has three children — Fred L., 
Oscar, and Lctitia. Jennie C. is the wife of 
Captain A. A. Galiano, of Hull, and has two 
boys — Andrew and Alfred K. The father 
antl mother are still living. 

John Smith, after acquiring his education 
in the sciiools of his native town, went fishing 
with his father until 1881, when he was aji- 
pointed on the police force of Hull, being the 
first Chief of Police in this town. This posi- 
tion he resigned in iSgoto accej^t the appoint- 
ment of Superintendent of Str';ets, which he 
has held ever since. Since 1893 he has 
officiated as Selectman, having been re-elected 
in 1896 for another term of three years. 

On June 12, 1883, he was married to Mar- 
garet E. Moore, of Cambridge, Mass. They 
have three children — Daniel Alfred, John 
Francis, and Lilian Florence Smith. In re- 
ligion Mr. Smith is liberal like his parents. 
His wife is a Catholic. Mr. Smith is a man 
of energy, promptness, and steady application 
to business, one who has made his own way in 
the world, and is not afraid of work. 




I.LIA.M R. SWIFT, who lost an 
arm while gallantly serving as a 
defender of the Union in the Civil 
War, is a well-known resident of Plymouth, 
Mass. He was born at Cedarville, in this 
town, January 31, 1839. 

He attained to maturity in his native town, 
and at the age of thirteen years he began in 
life for himself by shipping on board a fishing 
schooner in the capacity of cook. After going 
on several voyages he, in company with 



another man, purchased a vessel, on which he 
.sailed until 1861. 

Shortly after the breaking out of the war he 
enlLsted in Company E, Twenty-third Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts Volunteers, being mus- 
tered in at Lynnfield, Mass. l-'aithful to his 
duties, he kept his place in the ranks, and took 
part in several engagements, the first of which 
was at Roanoke Island, N.C., the second at 
New Heme, N.C., the third at Kingston, in 
the same State, and the fourth at White Hall, 
where he was wounded by a rifle-ball. As a 
result he was obliged to have his arm am]ni- 
tated near the shoulder, this being done 
within a few hours on the battlefield. He 
was soon removed to the hospital at New 
Berne, where he remained about si.v weeks, 
and was then sent home on a furlough. He 
received his final discharge in Hoston, August 
II, 1863. After residing at Chiltonvillc, 
Mass., for a few years, he purchased his pres- 
ent farm in the town of Plymouth, coni])rising 
nine acres, on which he is extensively and 
successfully engaged in the culture of cran- 
berries. 

On November 28, 1873, ^'r. Swift was 
united in matrimony with Miss Isabelle H. 
Nightingale. Of their union four children 
have been born; namely, Hattie, Mabel, 
William, and one that dieil in infancy. Mr. 
Swift's political views identify him with the 
Republican party. 




IIOMAS G. GAM.MONS, a veteran of 
the American conflict of 1861-65, the 
marks of which he must always carry, 
having been twice wounded while engaged in 
the service ot his country, has during recent 
years devoted himself to general farming in 
the town of Middleboro, Plymouth County. 
He was born here, November 15. 1S43. 



626 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He remained nt home until a few months after 
the breaking out of the Southern Rebellion, 
when on October i8, 1861, he enlisted in 
Company D, of the Twenty-fourth Regiment, 
Massachusetts Volunteers, being mustered in 
at Readville as a private. The first engage- 
ment in which he took part was at Roanoke 
Island, N.C., which was followed by others at 
New Berne, Little Washington, Rollo Mills, 
Whitehall, Kingston, Goldsboro Bridge, and 
the siege of Morris Island, where his regiment 
charged the rifle pits. They were next sent 
to charge upon Fort Sumter in conjunction 
with the marines, but this ])lan was abandoned, 
and they went instead to Jacksonville, Fla., 
where they spent the winter, and took part in 
the battle of St. Augustine. The following 
spring they returned to Virginia, and under 
General Butler were in the engagement at 
the rear of Fort Darling, and in the three 
days' fight, three battles, near Malvern Hill. 
In the battle of Deep Bottom Mr. Gammons 
was wounded by a minie-ball, which struck 
the bone just above the knee, and passed 
through the leg. Disabled for field service he 
was taken on board the hospital boat, on 
which he remained three years. After leav- 
ing her, and while at Beverly, N.J., in Au- 
gust, he was again wounded and obliged to re- 
main there until October. He received his 
lionorable discharge, with the rank of Ser- 
geant, in October, 1864. His first promotion 
after entering service was to the position of 
Color Corporal, a year later he was made Ser- 
geant, and when he was wounded he was act- 
ing as Orderly Sergeant. 

For several months after his return home, 
Mr. Gammons was obliged to go on crutches, 
and he was unable to engage in regular work 
for two years. He then took up shoemaking 
for a short time, and since then he has fol- 
lowed carpentry and farming, purchasing the 



farm on which he resides in 1874. Politi- 
cally, he is a stanch Republican; and, frater- 
nally, he is a member of Post No. 8, Grand 
Army of the Republic, of Middleboro. Mr. 
Gammons married Miss Bessie Bumpus, and 
three daughters have been born to them; 
namely, Susan E., Grace W. (deceased), and 
Bessie M. 

**r** 

TT^APTAIN CHARLES C. DELANO, 
I Vp a fine representative of the brave and 
Vfci£_^ skilful seamen upon whom the com- 
mercial wealth of our nation so largely de- 
pends, was born February 25, 1847, on the 
farm where he now resides, he being the fifth 
master of a vessel born on this same home- 
stead. His father, the ( late ^Captain Isaac 
Delano, was a successful 1 whaler in his day, 
and a type of the industrious and hardy people 
of the coast towns whose j sturdy virtues left 
their impress on New England character. -To- 
hinr itFi<3 his wife, -whose' maiden name was 
Mary — Brrggs, four ^ children were born; 
immely^—Sarah^ Charles -C., Isaac, Jr., and 
WiliramT- I 

At thirteen years of age, Charles C. Delano 
having received his educ<ition in the public 
schools of Marion, begani his seafaring life. 
Shipping on board an emigrant vessel, he re- 
mained as a common seam^'^n four years, being 
subsequently promoted frot^i rank to rank until 
twenty-six years old, wnen he was made 
master of a vessel. Since 1S73 he has fol- 
lowed the sea in that capacity, and in each of 
the vessels he has commanded has owned a 
goodly interest. Captain Delano has sailed 
all the seas, having circumnavigated the 
globe four times, doublinglCape Horn and the 
Cape of Good Hope. He has walked the 
streets of the larger maritime cities of the dif- 
ferent continents, and seen the principal 
points of interest in both hemispheres, ac- 



N 



\1 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(,2^ 



quiring a vast luinl i>f information that maices 
him a most interesting cpmpan ion. 

Cai^tain Delano was inarrieii in 1.S73 to Miss 
Sarah Brings, wiio has Ijorno him three chil- 
dren; namely, Charles C, Jr., Amos, and 
Howard. The Captaih and his family occupy 
the house in which so many of his ancestors 
have lived and died, And which is now more 
than a century old, but is in a good state of 
])reservation. 



^I^OAH J. CHANULKR, the proprietor 
and manager of the Manomet Hotel at 

L^ V^ ^ Plymouth, Mas.s. , was born in the 
adjoining town of Duxbury in 1842, a son of 
Noah and Abigail (Phillips) Chandler. 

His father followed agricultural pursuits at 
Du.xbury throughout lite. He married Miss 
Abigail Phillips, and they became the favored 
parents of seven children, six sons and one 
daughter. 

Noah J. Chandler passed his boyhood at 
Duxbury on his father's farm, acquiring his 
education in the common schools. At the 
age of twelve he apjilied himself to the trade 
of shoemaking, which he plied at Duxbury 
until a few months after the outbreak of the 
Civil War, when, in September, 1861, he en- 
listed as a private in Company I, of the 
I'ourth Regiment of Massachusetts Infantry. 
He went South with the regiment, and in 
the battle of Urashear City he sustained a 
severe wound in the left shoulder by being 
struck by a shell. He remained a few weeks 
in the vicinity of Port Hudson. Discharged 
as a private at Duxbury in August, 1862, he 
then returned to his trade, working at Rock- 
land, and at Boston, Mass. 

In 1893 he moved to Manomet Point, and 
in the following year he assumed the manage- 
ment of the Brooks House at that place. Mr. 



Chandler is now the proprietor ami manager of 
the Manomet House, which accommodates 
about fifty guests, and which has a livery con- 
nection. Two pleasure boats also are run for 
the enjoyment of the patrons. Mr. Chandler 
is affiliated with the fraternity of Odd Fel- 
lows, and in politics he is numbered among 
the followers of the Republican party. 




IIARLKS H. CHURCHILL, who 
conducts a thriving retail fruit busi- 
ness in Plymouth, was born in this 
town, December 31, 1836, .son of KIkanah 
Churchill, who was for many years master of a 
fishing-vessel. 

At the age of ten years young Churchill 
began work in the rope-walk, where he was 
employed during the summer season, winding 
rope from five o'clock in the morning until 
seven in the evening, with a recess of two 
hours for meals, receiving twenty-five cents 
per day for his labor. Having learned to peg 
shoes, he followed that employment in the 
winter season, during the hours which were 
not occupied in attending school; and he was 
thus engaged until he was fifteen years (dd, 
when he went to the Grand Hanks on board a 
fishing-vessel. He later became a sailor in 
the merchant service, making voyages to the 
West Indies until reaching the age of twenty- 
five, when he met with an accident which 
compelled him to relinquish sea life; and, re- 
turning to Plymouth, he entered mercantile 
business as a clerk in Brailford Barnes's gro- 
cery store, where he remained for ten years. 
He then engaged in a similar capacity with 
Stephen Lucas, proprietor of a retail fruit 
store, receiving at first five dollars per week, 
which was soon increased to six dollars, and 
the following year his wages were advanced to 
seven dollars per week. 



628 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He remained with Mr. Lucas as clerk until 
January, 1880, when he bought the business 
outright. Successful from the start, he con- 
tinued to run the old store until November, 
18S5, when he completely remodelled its in- 
terior, put in a large show, window, and other- 
wise improved his facilities for carrying on a 
flourishing and constantly increasing business, 
to which he devotes his entire time, employ- 
ing no assistant. Never having connected 
himself with outside matters which would pre- 
vent him from attending personally to its 
every detail, he has been able to successfully 
compete with his rivals, who have been 
obliged to withdraw, and he is now enjoying 
a clear field for the carrying on of a large and 
profitable enterprise. 

In politics Mr. Churchill is a Republican, 
having voted with that party since becoming 
of age, but has never entertained any desire 
for public office. In his religious views he is 
liberal. 



< * ■ » > 



KRED HANSON, a prominent citizen of 
Brockton, where for many years he has 
conducted a marble business, was born 
in Weymouth, Mass., May 2, 1835, a son of 
Thomas R. and Clarissa (Dudley) Hanson, 
from both of whom he inherited many noble 
traits of character. 

Thomas R. Hanson was the first cashier of 
the Union Bank of Weymouth and Braintree. 
He was also Secretary of the Mutual Insurance 
Company of Weymouth, and Treasurer of the 
Savings Bank of that place, besides holding at 
various tim.es niany of the principal town 
offices. He died at si.\ty-five years of age. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa 
Dudley, bore him seven children, all sons, 
but only two survive: Fred, of this sketch; 
and his brother, of the firm of Hanson & 
Greene, the wholesale and millinery house of 



New York. This brother fitted for college 
and entered Amherst; but, changing his mind, 
he left college, went to Boston, and learned 
the millinery business in the store of Will- 
iam II. Mann & Co. on Milk Street. 

He subsequently went to New York with 
Mr. Cluden, the junior member of the firm, 
and after a time was admitted to partnership. 

Fred Hanson prepared for the work of life 
in the common schools of Weymouth and at a 
private academy in Braintree, Mass. On May 
I, 185 I, the day before his si.xteenth birthday, 
he came to Brockton, and began a five years' 
apprenticeship with Howard & Clark in the 
cabinet-making and furniture business, work- 
ing three years at the bench, and the remain- 
ing two years in the counting-room, keeping- 
books. After that he continued with them _ 
four years as salesman, and then went to 
Bridgewater, and started in the furniture busi- 
ness on his own account. Returning to 
Brockton at the end of two and a half years, 
he carried on business here in that line for 
some time. In 1864 he enlisted in Company 
C of the Sixtieth Ma'ss'achusetts Volunteers. 
After his return from the war in 1865, he em^ 
barked in the marble business with George 
W. Bryant, under the firm name of Bryant & 
Hanson, and they continued together until 
January i, 1875, when Mr. Hanson assumed 
the entire control of the busin-ess, which is 
one of the oldest in this part of the State. 

On March i, 1857, Mr. Hanson married 
Abbie J. Bryant, of Brockton. She died in 
1 87 1, survived by a daughter, their two sons 
having died in childhood. In July, 1873, 
Mr. Hanson married Miss Margaret C. 
Hooi:)er, of Bridgewater, Mass. 

A Republican in political aflfiliation, Mr. 
Hanson was elected Representative to the 
State legislature from the Eleventh Plymouth 
District in 1895, and served on the State 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



629 



House Committee. lie lias also sorvetl as 
clerk ami as Inspector of Klections from Ward 
2. He was the first to propose that I'erkins 
Park shoulil be lighted by electricity, and did 
much toward making it a success. He was 
Chairman of the Committee during the fair 
held there by the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic, and made a contract with the New England 
Weston lilectric Light Company of Boston to 
light the park. They brought dynamos, 
which they put in the old Keith factory at the 
west end of the park, then occupied by W. L. 
Douglass. These were the first electric lights 
used in the town. Mr. Hanson was also in- 
strumental in getting trains run in to the 
entertainment. Kraternally, he is a member 
of Webster Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the 
Republic, of which he has been Commander 
seven or eight years, and has served on various 
committees. He is a member of the New 
Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) church. 



(s^YOHN F. SCHUBERT, an e.xpert cus- 
tom shoemaker of Plymouth, Mass., 
who has been in the employ of one 
concern here for forty years, was born in the 
Province of Silesia, Germany, December 14, 
1826. His father, Joseph Schubert, was a 
mason by trade He gave his children a good 
education in the national schools, and young 
Schubert after graduating from the high school 
learned the trade of a shoemaker. At the age 
of twenty years he entered the Prussian Army, 
and during his five years of military life his 
regiment was called into active service to 
quell the Polish Revolution of 1848. 

After his discharge from the army in 1851, 
John F. Schubert emigrated to the United 
States, and, settling in Boston, was employed 
on custom shoe work by John F. Pray, [)ropri- 
elor of an extensive establishment located on 



Washington .Street in that city. In 1856 Mr. 
Schubert came to Plymouth, where he entered 
the employ of Benjamin Bramhall, later con- 
tinuing with Benjamin L. Bramhall, and he is 
still one of the most valued and skilful em- 
ployees of the Bramhall establishment. 

In 1853 Mr. Schnl)ert wedded Catherine 
Connor, a native of Ireland, and has reared a 
family of seven children, five s(jns and twi 
daughters, all of whom are residing in Plym- 
outh and are useful and respected members of 
society. One of his sons is a dentist, another 
follows shoemaking, another is a harness- 
maker, and the remaining two are connected 
with the iron inilustries. .Mrs. Schubert died 
in 1879. 

For the past eight or nine years Mr. Schu- 
bert has been a Trustee of the Plymouth Pub- 
lic Library, and he also takes a deep interest 
in other public institutions. Politically, he 
is independent, and supports the candidates 
whom he considers best qualified to hold pub- 
lic office. 




ON. ALBERT FRANCIS BARKICR, 
of Hanson, was born in this town, 
October 24, 1859, son of Benjamin 
and Deborah (Sacherick) Barker. His grand- 
father, also named Benjamin, was born in the 
town of Pembroke, now Hanson, and, after re- 
ceiving a common-school education, engaged 
in farming. He was a i)rominent citizen, 
serving as Selectman, Overseer of the Poor, 
and Assessor, for a number of years, lie was 
also an active member of the Congregational 
church. His son Benjamin, father of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born in Hanson, Janu- 
ary 17, 1811. After leaving school he learned 
the carpenter's trade, which he followed for 
seven or eight years, subsequently turning his 
attention to farming. He was very prominent 
in town affairs. 



630 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 




Albert F. Barker received his education in 
the schools of Hanson. When about twenty 
years old he went to Colorado, where he en- 
gaged in mining. Returning home in 1881, 
he went to farming, and also began the study 
of law. Being admitted to the bar in 1892, 
he began the practice of his profession in 
Brockton, and has since been thus successfully 
engaged. Mr. Barker married Lucie C. Reyn- 
olds, and he and his wife have become the 
parents of three children — Albert D. , Maggie 
D., and Robert. Mr. Barker has served as 
member of the Board of Selectmen, Overseer 
of the Poor, member of both branches of the 
State legislature and in other offices. He is 
a member of Plymouth Rock Lodge, Knights 
of Pythias. 

INFIP:LD S. SOULP:, the well- 
known foreman of the Lilly Brack- 
et! & Co. Shoe P'actory, and an in- 
ventor of several machines to facilitate the. 
shoe industry, was born in Bowdoin, Sagada- 
hoc County, Me., July 29, 1864. He is a son 
of the late Reuben Soule, a native of New 
Gloucester, Me., where ancestors of the fam- 
ily, which is of English descent, settled in 
1700. 

Reuben Soule was a farmer and carriage 
manufacturer for a quarter of a century. His 
farm was large, requiring the aid of several 
men. Mr. Soule was previously engaged in 
teaching for a time; and he also served as 
Captain of a military company. He married 
a daughter of Joel Allen, of Webster, Me., 
and they had five children, three of whom are 
living. Reuben Soule died at the age of 
fifty-seven years. 

Winfield S. Soule, after acquiring his edu- 
cation in the public and private schools of his 
native town, learned shoe stitching in the 
Burt & Packard Shoe Factory, remaining 



there four years. In 1884 he entered the em- 
ploy of Lilly Brackett & Co., and was pro- 
moted four years after to be foreman of their 
stitching-room, which he still has in charge. 
Being of an inventive turn of mind, in April, 
1895, he made a machine for marking rows 
and stay work, which also graduates the sizes 
and widths of shoes ; and later he made 
another machine for attaching faces on uppers, 
the operator being obliged only to guide the 
work. This he intends to put out on a roy- 
alty. Mr. Soule has also invented an eyelet 
machine, and two or three kinds of snipping 
machines, besides others, which are not yet 
patented. 

On July 5, 1 891, Mr. Soule was united in 
marriage with a daughter of Joseph Eldridge, 
of Bucksport, Me. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of Massasoit Lodge, No. 69, Independent 
Order of Odd P'ellows. He and his wife at- 
tend the Porter Congregational branch church. 



OHN S. WILLIAMS, an esteemed 
resident of Middleboro, Mass., where 
he established himself in business in 
April, 1896, was born in Fall River, Mass., 
May 10, 1875. He is a son of John W. and 
Ellen (Sherman) Williams, of that city. His 
father is in the grocery business at Fall 
Brook. Mrs. Ellen S. Williams, who came 
originally from Farmington, Me., is well 
known and respected in South Weymouth, 
Mass., where she lived before her marriage. 
She is the mother of three children: John S., 
whose name appears at the head of this article; 
Nathaniel E., residing in I'all River, his 
father's assistant in the store; and Harold, 
who is yet with his parents. 

John S. , the eldest son, passed his early 
boyhood in the bustling town of Fall River. 
He received a good education, attending the 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



63" 



grammar and lii-li scliools of Midcllcboro, and 
taking a two years" course of study at Amherst 
College. As a first attem|)t at earning a live- 
lihood, he obtained employment in a paper box- 
factory at South Weymouth, and after a year 
and a half of that work he went to New ^^)rk 
to perfect himself in the science and art of 
undertaking, making a special study of the 
latest and best methods. He was graduated' 
from the United States School of Embalming, 
and about a year ago he established himself in 
business in Middleboro as an undertaker 
and funeral director. Although he has been 
here but a short time, he has already demon- 
strated his ability in his profession; and his 
quiet, pleasing manner, his refinement and 
delicacy have won for him many friends. 

Mr. Williams belongs to the Independent 
Order of Odd I'"ellows, and to the Middleboro 
Commercial Club. He attends the Congre- 
gational church, and is a prominent member 
of the local branch of the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. 




|UGENh: LINEHAN, a well-known drug- 
gist of Brockton, was born in West 
Bridgewatcr, February 2, 1859, son 
of Timothy and Ellen Linehan. Timothy 
Linehan, who was a shoemaker, was a highly 
respected citizen of Brockton, where he re- 
sided for half a century. He was about 
seventy years old at the time of his death. 

liugene Linehan was the youngest son of 
his parents. He was given the best educa- 
tional advantages, attending the common 
schools of West Ikidgewater, Bridgewater 
Academy, and Bryant & Strntton's Commer- 
cial College, Boston, and when his studies 
were finished was well cpialifietl for a business 
career. In 1881 he opened a drug store near 
his present location, and in the fifteen years 



that have elapsed since that time he has built 
up a lucrative business. Mr. Linehan is mar- 
ried and has had two children, a boy and a 
girl. The girl died in childhood. The boy, 
whose name is luigene, is a student in the 
Brockton High School. Mr. Linehan is in- 
dependent in politics. He was in the City 
Coiuicil two yeans, being elected from Ward 
7, and the second year was nominated by both 
the Republicans and Democrats. He belongs 
to one social organization, the Knights of Co- 
lumbus. 




DWrX T. CLARK, a leading business 
iTun of Hanson, was born in this town, 
August I, 1S49, son of Edwin and 
Louisa (Bowker) Clark. His grandfather, 
Thomas Clark, was a native of Hanson, where 
he followed the trade of a wheelwright. He 
married Sarah Keith, of West Bridgewater, 
and they became the parents of seven chil- 
dren. 

Their son, Edwin, father of Edwin T., was 
born in West Bridgewater, Mass., in 1835. 
He was educated in the schools of his native 
town, and learned the trade of a shoemaker, 
which he followed the greater part of his life. 
In 1862 his patriotism led him to enlist in the 
Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry, and he per- 
formed his duty as one of the grand army of 
citizen .soldiers whr) fought for the preserva- 
tion of the Union. He is a Republican, pn- 
litically, and he is a member of L. T. Bonney 
Post, No. 127, Grand Army of the Republic. 
His wife, Louisa, reared three children. 

lulwin T. Clark, who is the eldest son of 
his parents, was educated in a school at South 
Hanson. His first business experience was 
gained as clerk in a store, in which position 
he remained for several years. Then, consid- 
ering himself ecpiipped for an intlepemlent 
start in life, he opened a grocery store at 



632 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Bryantville. This venture proved a' success, 
and, Mr. Clark thus encouraged, subsequently 
opened another store at South Hanson, which 
also proved successful. Me conducts both 
stores at the present time, and has a large and 
increasing trade, the result of his straight- 
forward business methods and his thorough 
knowledge of the wants of his patrons. He 
is one of the most prosperous and substantial 
citizens of Hanson. He takes a prominent 
part in local affairs; and that he stands high 
ill the community may be inferred from the 
fact that he has served one year as a Repre- 
sentative to the State legislature. 



[^ATHANIEL MOU :ON, a well-known 
resident of the town of Pembroke, 

'^ *■ Plymouth County, Mass., present 

Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, was born 
in the neighboring town of Halifa.x, in 1841. 
He comes of old New England stock, and from 
the best information obtainable is a lineal 
descendant of George Morton, a native of 
England, who came to I^lymouth in the 
"Ann" in 1623. Mr. Morton's paternal 
grandfather, Elbridge Morton, was born in 
Freetown, Bristol County, Mass., and subse- 
quently located in Halifax, Plymouth County, 
where he was engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine. He married Johanna Thompson, and 
they reared seven children. Mr. Morton's 
father followed farming in Halifa.x for many 
years. 

Nathaniel Morton, after attending the pub- 
lic schools of his native town, took a conmier- 
cial course of study in Boston. In April, 
1861, at the first call for troops, he enlisted 
for three months in Company A, Third Regi- 
ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and 
served until the expiration of the term, when 
he was honorably discharged with the regi- 



ment, and came home. In the autumn of 
1862 he re-enlisted for nine months in the 
same company, being commissioned Lieuten- 
ant, and serving in that capacity until again 
receiving an honorable discharge. Returning 
to Halifax, he engaged in farming, remaining 
a resident of that town until 1883, when he 
removed to his present home in the village of 
Bryantville. Mr. Morton takes a practical in- 
terest in public affairs. He served twelve 
years on the Board of Selectmen in Halifax, 
and he is now, as already mentioned, at the 
head of the official board of Pembroke. He 
is also a member of J. E. Symonds Post, No. 
Ill, Grand Army of the Republic. On Janu- 
ary I, 1868, he was united in marriage with 
Martha C. Harrington. 



OHN WILLIAMS, a well-to-do farmer 
and dairyman of Lakeville, formerly a 
part of Middleboro, Mass., was born 
August 28, 183 I, on the valuable estate of one 
hundred and seventy acres where he now 
lives. Mr. Williams received his early edu- 
cation in a district school, acquiring there a 
practical knowledge of reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, which served as a basis for the 
larger knowledge acquired in the work of 
every-day life and intercourse with different 
classes of men. He went to work on the Old 
Colony Railroad when nineteen years of age — 
that is, about 1850 — and may claim to have 
worked on some of the first miles of railroad 
laid in New England. 

The first steam locomotive put in service in 
this country made its initial trip in August, 
1829, on the Delaware & Hudson Canal Rail- 
road. Fc llowing this, came the Baltimore & 
Ohio, the Albany & Schenectady, and a road 
connecting Charleston, S.C. , with Hamburg. 
In 1830 there were but twenty-three miles of 



BIOGRAIMIICAL REVIEW 



^<^^ 



railio;iil in this country; in 1840, two llioii- 
sanci oit;ht Iiundrcd ami ciglitccn ; and in 
1S50, wlicn Mr. Williams was on<;a<;c(l in 
railroad work, nine thousand and twcnly-onc 
miles. Tile present niileaj^e is .so great that, 
if all the railroads in our country wore ex- 
tended in a straight line, they would exceed 
more than five times the circumference of the 
globe. 

Mr. Williams w.is cinployed on the road 
from Myrick's to Bridgcwattr, Mass., about a 
year and a half, and then returned to the home 



farm, where he has since resideti. lie owns 
eighty-five acres of land in Lakeville, and 
eighty-five acres in Taunton, and is exten- 
sively engaged in general farming and dair) - 
ing, owning some fine live stock. He is one 
of the prominent citizens of Lakeville, and as 
a Republican has long been interested in 
town matters, at one time cfiRciently fill- 
ing the office of Road Surveyor. One of 
the old residents of the town, Mr. Williams 
is well known in the locality and highly 
esteemed. 



INDEX. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



A I Heal, (ieorjje A 254 ' Gary, (;eorge C. . 

Alger, Albert I ^g^ [ Beal, Samuel L 30 j Cliamberlain, James N 

Allen, George D 4^3 Heals, Joseph E 208 | Cliandler, Algernon S 



Allen, George 41,^ Heals, William E. 



Allen, Henry D. 
Allen, John M. 



20 I Chandler, Klbridw H. 



316 



Hearse, Augustus M 165 Chandler, Horatio 

e, Alden 220 Chandler, Noah J. 



Hess 



Ames, Elijah 552 '"••ckmer. Garrison H 442 

Anderson, James F ,3^, | Hlackstone, Hollis M 61 

Angerer, Frank E 262 i '^onii<^y. Edward H 565 

Anglim, Henry T. ..... 162 ! ■^"""ey, William F. .... 444 

Archibald, Thomas 35 I Hosworlh, Henry M 623 

Ashley, John E 284 I^ou^ne. Sylvanus 313 

Ashley, Silas P 313 Hoyden, Albert G 24 

Atwood, Henjamin S.- .... 330 , ^^''''^c'^elt, Frederick G. ... 153 

Ativood, Gustavus ,(j(j Hradford, Alden S 16S 

Atwood, Ichabod F 483 Hradford, Cornelius F. 

Atwood, Josiali \V 235 ''""aley, Jason I.. 



Charles, Orlando \V.. M.lJ. 

"Chipman, William L. . . 

Church, Nathaniel . . . 

Church, Samuel H. . . 

Churchill, Charles H 

Churtliill, John U. . 

Churchill, Lucius R. , . 

Clapp, Elijah T 

Clapp, Eugene H. ... 

563 Clark, .Abner J 

447 Clark. David 



B 

Bailey, George W 519 

Bailey, Thomas F 508 

Haker, George M 350 

Baker, Horace I-: 401 

Banks, Ottiwell W 610 

Barker, Albert F 629 

Barker, John 433 

Barrows, Pel ham \V 513 

Barstow, Henry 425 

Harstow, Thomas 5S7 

Hartlett, }Iorace i^r 

Bardett, Joshua K ^s 

Batcheldcr, John C, M.U. . . 102 

Bates, De Witt C 236 

Bates, Henry S 504 

Hates, William 426 

Bates, William H 123 

Battles, .\ahum 



Atwood, Marcus 624 I^^'^'y, Lorenzo D 442 Clark, Edwin T. . . 

HrctI, Henry A 196 Clark, Nicholas A. . 

Briggs, Joseph W 292 Clark, Walter L. . . 

Brooks; John S 467 Cleaveland. Walter F 

Brooks, Peleg T 3,84 Cobb, David . . . 

Brown, Daniel E., M.D. ... 579 Cobb, Oliver . 

Brown, E. Coleman, iM.D. . . 117 Cobb, Otis . . . . 

Brown, ICdward 1 306 Cobb, Philander . 

Brown, George H 333 Cole. Augustus . . 

Brown, George H 434 Cole, Charles H. . . 

Brown, William ,01 Cole, Elmer B. 

Bryant, Charles 326 Cole, Theron .M. 

Bryant, Henry L 584 Collamore, Francis 

Burdett, Joseph 595 ! Colman. Moses H 



259 

530 
377 
3S7 
423 
627 

74 

61 cS 

599 
604 
627 
226 

97 

4<>S 

573 
532 

576 
(.31 

.>3 
210 

25s 
207 

1 1'> 



.\l.l;. 



Burgess, James 350 

Burr, Fearing 324 

Hurrell, Jarvis 1S5 



A 314 Cannon, David IL, .M.D. 



Constans, Frank E., .M 
Cook, Ernest L. . . 
Cook, Kand.ill W. . 
Cook, Robert . . . 
Copeland, Lyman E. 
Copeland, William W. 
Cornish, Ellis H., .\LD 
330 Crane, Ebenezer . . 



Heal, Bernard C -loi Carvi-r Ilpnrv ,r r- ' tl 

■ • jui v.dr\cr, iienrj ^o,j Crane, Henrv L. 



54<> 



424 

5S1 
207 
408 
50 
40 
51.S 

534 

419 
21 



636 



INDEX 



I'AGE 

Crocker, Harvey 546 

Crocker, Zenas H 493 

Cross, Nathaniel H 468 

Cross, William W 32 

Culver, Albert 230 

Curtis, Henry J 526 

Curtis, Lewis N. . 482 

Curtis, Minot S 329 

Cushing, Alonzo 30S 

Cusliing, David 216 

Cushing, Nathaniel W. . . 493 

Cushing, Reuben P 38 

Cushman, George P 362 

Cushman, Jesse M 472 

D 

Dakin, Archibald 586 

Damon, Daniel E 220 

Damon, Edmund T 136 

Damon, George H 500 

Damon, James 560 

Damon, John B 585 

Damon, Walter E 557 

Danfortli, Allen 269 

David, Charles F 114 

Davis, Charles G 391 

Davis, George E 605 

Davis, William T 550 

Dawes, James H 302 

Dawes, John C 476 

Dawes, Josephus 515 

Dean, Ellery C 37 

Dean, Joshua 590 

Defrees, George T 245 

Delano, Charles C 626 

Delano, David 158 

Delano, John W 388 

Delano, Robert T 426 

Denham, Andrew 473 

Devereux, Daniel D 507 

Dexter, John G 503 

Dick, H. G 559 

Dimmick, Andrew D 613 

Doten, Lucius H 307 

Doten, Samuel H 16 

Douglas, Charles E 159 

Douglas, Luther A 418 

Douglas, William L 241 

Drew, Winslow 157 

Drohan, Thomas 84 

Dunbar, George B 414 



PAGE 

Dunham, John 263 

Dyer, George G 372 

E 

Eames, John H 592 

Eldridge, J. A., M.D 532 

Eidridge, Thomas N 26S 

Ellis, Elisha W 520 

Ellis, Nathaniel 377 

Ellnis, Charles 436 

Emery, George W 487 

Estes, Rufus T 5S4 

Ewell, Judson 516 

F 

Faunce, Walter H 533 

Fearine, William H 334 

Fearing, George J 623 

Fearing, Hawkes 294 

Fearing, William, 2d .... 35S 

Field, Barzillai 269 

Field, Charles C 369 

Field, Charles T 290 

Field, Daniel W 75 

Field, Fred F 14 

Flagg, Wallace C 166 

Fletcher, Henry L 316 

Fogg, Ebenezer T 523 

Ford, Rev. David B 336 

Foster, John 456 

Frame, Joseph, M.D 188 

French, Walter L 107 

G 

Gaffield, Thomas 364 

Gale, Andrew 167 

Gammons, Benjamin .... 474 

Gammons, Edward A 234 

Gammons, Thomas G 625 

Gardner, Andrew J 115 

Gardner, Francis B 451 

Gardner, John C 186 

Gates, Samuel P 140 

Gibbs, Benjamin F 393 

Gibbs, Nathan P 500 

Gilmore, Patrick 60 

Glancy, Bernard 620 

Gleason, Charles S., NLD. . . 529 

Gleason, Edwin P., M.D. . . 181 



PAGE 

Glover, Amasa S 138 

Goddard, George B 95 

Goddard, Rev. Henry E. ... lyi 

Godfrey, Job H 432 

Griffin, Alfred 212 

Griffith, James H 299 

Groce, William R. . . . . . 194 

Gurney, Alexander R 234 

Gurney, Ansel S 407 

Gurney, Henry 222 

H 

Hadley, Joseph E 404 

Hadley, Peleg B 595 

Hall, EHsha W 554 

Hall, Robert B 11 

Hall, Samuel M 211 

Hall, Sylvanus W 545 

Hall, Walton 376 

Hammond, Henry T 301 

Hammond, James F 392 

Hammond, L. P'ranklin . . . 575 

Hammond, Walter C 612 

Hancock, Portus B 36 

Hanson, Fred 628 

Harding, Henry C 327 

Harden, Benjamin 221 

Hardy, Cyrus H 227 

Harlow, Jesse 102 

Harrington, Z. Taylor .... 161 

HarvilC Elisha T 22 

Haskins, George S 108 

Hastings, Alton B 56 

Hatch, Franklin W 502 

Hatch, Martin 540 

Hathaway, Judah 152 

Hayward, Hela B 47 

Henry, Stephen, M.D 371 

Hersey, Alfred H 620 

Hersey, Edmund 347 

Hersey, Edmund, 2d .... 412 

Hewett, Joseph 135 

Hogan, Edward 586 

Holbrook, Samuel A 145 

HoUis, John B 359 

Holmes, Freeman H 293 

Holmes, Philander J 143 

Hooper, George M 248 

Howard, Cyrus 1 1 

Howard, Francis E 62 

Howard, Frederick 602 



INDEX 



637 



1. 



Howard, George 15. 
Howard, C.eorge C. 
Howard, Hnvcndon 
Howard, Samuel H. . . 
Howard, S. Nelson . 
Howard, Warren A. 
Howes, Woodbridge K , 
Howlaiid, Charles H. . 

I lowland, Charles \V. . 

Humphrey, C..\\en . ■ 

Humphrey, George W. 

Humphrey, Martin A. 

Hunt, George, M.U. 

Hunting, Amos . . 



M 



.1) 



PAr.B I 

79 
608 

255 
56S 

61 y 

4S0; 

118 

59 
270 
4S1 
173 
4'4 

96 



Leonard, Spencer . ■ 
Lilley, Theodore . • • 
Lincoln, Kveretl T. . . 
Lincoln, Rev. Nehemiah 
Linchan, Ilugene . . . 
Lilchlield, Melvin S. . 
Litchfield, Ward . 
Litchfield, Warren . 
Litchfield, William II. . 
Little, Henry O. . . . 
Long. John 1). ... 
Loring, Lewis 1'. . ■ . 
Loud, Hulda B. . . • 

Lucas, Lot S 

Luce, John K 

Lumbert, Alberto W. . 



J 

Jackson, I'rcscott H 526 

James, Joshua '75 

James, Washington 1 '79 

Jones, Joseph D 222 

Joslyn, Elisha H 54= 



K 



H. 



?o8 



566 
'45 



Keene, Benjamin K 
Keene, Luther 
Keith, George M. 

Keith, Lemuel M 200 

Keith, Myron L 394 

Keith, Kufus P. . • "80 

Keith, Samuel '§9 

Keith, Sumner 7' 

Keith, Ziba C 146 McLauthlen, Samuel. Jr 

King.LothropC 623 Merritt, Asa J. . . ■ 

Kingman, Abel W.,M.l).. . . 154 j M^-'fiU. Henry . . • 

Kingman, Kli/abeth A 541 ! Miller, Henry J. . ■ • 

Kinsman, Kufus P y I Mitchell, Herbert I. 

Kinsley, John 83 Moorehead. Robert 11. . 



M 

ALacomber, Joshua L. 
Maglathlin, Edwin I.. . 
Maglathlin, Henry B. . 
[ Maglathlin, Horace B. . 
Maglathlin, Onslow W. 
I Maglathlin, Philemon W. 
Magoun, Horatio B. 
Manley, Albert . . . 
Manson, Cliarles . 
Marble, Charles H. . 
Marble, Demerick 
Marston, Arthur 11. . 
McFarlin, Peleg . . ■ 
McFarlin, William S. . 



Knight, Charles K., M.D. . ■ 243 
Knight, Edward C, 3"° 



Lagergren, Emit . 
Latham, Kliab . . 
Lazell, Silvanus . 
Leach, Ira A. . 
Leach. James C. . 
Leavitt, Charles T. 
Le Baron, Thomas J 
Leonard, Bennic C. 



132 
2Sy 
402 

68 

593 
282 
300 



Morse, Charles E., M.D. 
Morse, George F., M.U. 
Morse, Nahum F. . . 
Morton, Nathaniel . . 

Mott, Paul 

Mulready, Edwin . . . 
Murdock, Albert L. . . 
Mvrick, William U. . 



N 



Nason, William P. 
Nelson, Sydney T. 



I'AGH 

49' 
342 
244 

"94 
f>3' 
443 
4</5 

513 
476 

93 

577 

"3' 

98 

.87 
525 
3'5 



604 



.Vesmith, Franklin E. 
Newcomb. George L., M.U. 
Newhall, Joseph A. . . . 
Nickerson, Ebcnezer . . 

Niles, Albert M 

Norlhey, Henry H. . . . 



Oakman, Hiram .\. 
Oakman, Israel . 
O'Neil, James W. . 
Osgood, (lilman, M.U. 
Otis, Job P. . . . 



254 
3S5 
38s 
21 1 
261 
53° 



15' 
V)7 
5'7 
I to 
318 



Packard, Charles R 204 

Packard, Fred H '73 



190 

410 
490 
3«> 

215 

411 
252 
334 



144 

109 

48 

23 

S2 



-Ss Packard, Henry B. . . 
,gy Packard, Isaac . . 

' Packard, Josiah Q 

Packanl, Robert H 

Packard, Rufus E 

Paine, Charles H 482 

Parker, Z.T 225 

Paun, Amos B., M.U 246 

Paun, John H • '03 

Peckham, Henry C 

1.1,]^ ' Peirce, E. Foster 
Peirce, Job . . . 
Peirce, Warren, .M.U. 
Perkins, William .... 
Perry, Edward Y. 
Peterson, Walter 
Phillips, Lot . 
Phillips, Morrill A. 
Pierce, Charles S. . 
Pierce, Ethan E. 
Pratt, Augustus 
Pratt, Calvin, M.U. . 



12 
23S 
283 
509 
475 
104 

575 
49^ 
299 
305 
453 
632 

564 
.46 
242 
494 



28 2 
462 

221 
61S 

459 
35' 
44' 

504 

37" 
260 

43t> 
42') 



Randall, tieorge S. 

Kapp, William 

Raymond, Edgar C. 
I Reed, George F. . 

Reed, Horace . . 
1 29 Reed, William L. 
404 Reynolds, Frank M. 



397 



73 
32' 

379 



638 



INDEX 



Rice, Charles L 548 

Rice, John A 15 

Richards, Lysander S 454 

Richardson, (ieorge L 190 

Richmond, Jeremiah T. . . . 339 

Ripley, Ebed L 602 

Ripley, Joseph 272 

Robbins, Benjamin W. ... 244 

Robbins, Caleb T 298 

Robbins, Frederick VV. ... 182 

Robinson, Morrill, M.D. . . . 435 

Rodgers, Clift 366 

Rogers, Charles C 284 

Rounesville, Alden 483 

Ryder, Henry II 55 

Ryder, John H 109 

Ryder, John S 447 

Ryder, Rev. W. C 354 



Sampson, Isaac 271 

Sampson, Miranda R 47 

Sanborn, Jacob 247 

Sanderson, William H. ... 326 

Sanford, Baalis 113 

Sanford, George B. . . . . . 305 

Sawtell, Edwin 354 

Schubert, John F 629 

Sears, Henry W 264 

Seaverns, Henry A 264 

Shaw, E. Watson 317 

Shaw, Francis M 65 

Shaw, George H., 2d . . . . 612 

Shaw, John F 287 

Shaw, John J., M.D 468 

Shaw, Joseph 514^ 

Shaw, Nathaniel Si 

Shaw, Wilson i74 

Sherman, Albert A 86 

Sherman, John 361 

Sherman, Joseph W 218 

Sherrett, Lewis 611 

Shirley, Allan L., M.D. . . . 606 

Shurtliff, Albert T 209 

Simmons, Charles 617 

Small, Albert F '203 

Smith, Charles J 581 

Smith, Charles S 615 

Smith, Ezra 5°' 

Smith, Henry T 588 

Smith, John 624 



Smith, Warren B 341 

Soule, Charles W 567 

Soule, George L 259 

Soule, Otis W 256 

Soule, Winfleld S 630 

Southworth, Asahel 309 

Sparrell, Charles W 284 

Sparrow, Fred C 228 

Sparrow, William E., M.D. . . 344 

Spooner, Robert T. C 622 

Sprague, Albert T 41 1 

Sprague, Charles J 559 

Sprague, Elisha P. .' . . . . 343 

Sprague, Fred L., D.D.S. . . 621 

Sprague, Seth 23 

Standish, Winslow B 218 

Stanley, Frederick 558 

Starrett, Arthur P 449 

Stetson, Isaac G 347 

Stetson, John M 73 

Stetson, Samuel C 340 

Stetson, Warren B 484 

Stetson, William 274 

Stockbridge, Rosea J 502 

Stoddard, Enos M 55S 

Stott, Thomas no 

Strong, Benjamin 129 

Strong, Frederick S 274 

Studley, Ezekiel R 120 

Studley, Gideon 137 

Sturgis, Walter H., M.D. ... 460 

Sweeny, Edward M 473 

Swift, Forest W 309 

Swift, Jo.shua W 510 

Swift, William R 625 

Sylvester, Robert 594 



Torrey, Josiah A 31 

Torrey, Willard 582 

Townsend, Charles A 54 

Turner, Azro 448 

Turner, James N 386 

V 

Vaughn, Adoniram 104 

Vaughn, James A 396 

Vaughn, Theodore T 151 

Vincent, Jason K 292 

Vining, Alexander 89 



W 



Taylor, Nathaniel 
Terry, Burgess P. 
Thayer, Albert M. . 
Thayer, Elihu . . . 
Thomas, Flavel S., M.D 
Thomas, George H. 
Thomas, William H. 
Thompson, Jabez P. 
Thompson, William A. 
Tillson, Z. Albert . 
Tilton, Charles W. . 
Tinkham, Herbert L. 
Tisdale, Charles E. . 



408 

153 
616 
614 
462 
589 
139 
509 
29 
201 
130 
152 
524 



Wadsworth, Ale.xandei" 






420 


Walbach, George G. . . 




401 


Ward, Frederick A. . . 






180 


Washburn, Cephas . . 






59' 


Watson, George H., M. 


D. 




46 


Weatherbee, George H. 






492 


Webster, Daniel . . . 






43 


Welch, E. Parker 






398 


Welch, George F. 




•■, 


557 


West, Charles E. . . 






188 


West, James H. . . 






370 


Weston, Joshua . . 






49' 


Wheeler, George A. 






72 


Whipple, John J. . . 






124 


White, Joseph . . . 






600 


White, Luther . . . 






349 


White, Otis . . . 






3S3 


White, Samuel C. . 






55 


Whiting, Edwin W. . 






168 


Whiting, John M. 






201 


Whiting, Oren T. 






193 


Whiting, Tryphena . 






417 


Williams, H. Leander 






433 


Williams, John . . 






632 


Williams, John S. . 






630 


Williamson, Charles 






• 479 


Wing, George F. . . 






297 


Winslow, Leander . 






■ 570 


Winsor, Edward W. 






■ 474 


Wood, Abner .... 






. 609 


Wood, Andrew M. . 






■ 341 


Wood, George A. 






. 28 


Woodward, George .\. 






• 372 


Wright, .Augustus II. 






• 94 


Wright, William J. . 






• 534 



PORTRAITS. 



I-AGH 

Anglim, Henry T 163 

Atwood, Benjamin S. (sleel) . . 331 

AtwootI, Gustavus 198 

15ates, William H 122 

Hoyden, Alb^ic G 25 

Bradford, Cornelius F. ... 562 

Burrell, Jarvis 1S4 

Chandler, Horatio 422 

Church, Nathaniel 599 

Cole, Augustus 3S2 

Cook, Randall \V 51 

Cross, William W 33 

Culver, iMbert 231 

Dawes, Jmies H 303 

Delano, John W 3S9 

Doten, Samuel H 17 

Douglas, William L 240 

Dunbar, George B 415 

Dyer, George G 373 

Ellis, Elisha W 521 

Kllms, Charles 437 

Emery, George W. (sled) . . 486 

Foster, John 457 

French, Walter L 106 

Gates, Samuel P 141 



PAGB 

Gleason, Charles S 528 

Griffin, Alfred 213 

Gurney, .\nsel S 406 

Gurney, Henry 223 

Hall, Elisha W 555 

Hall, Robert B. (face) .... 11 

Hall, Sylvanus W 544 

Hastings, Alton B 57 

Hersey, Edmund 346 

Hooper, George M 249 

Howard, Francis E 63 

Howard, George B 78 

Keith, Ziba C 147 

Kingman, Abel W 155 

Kingman, Mrs. Abby (steel) . . 6 

Kingman, Rufus V. (steel) . . 7 

Knight, l-dvvard G 311 

Lagergrcn, Emil 133 

Leach, Ira .A 177 

Leach, James C. (steel) ... 69 

Maglathlin. Henry B 286 

Maglathlin, Horace B 191 

Oakman, Israel 496 

Otis, Job P 319 

Packard, Charles R 205 



Phillips, Lot ... 505 

I Pratt, .Augustus . . 428 

Richmond, Jeremiah I'. 33S 

Rcdgers, Clift . . 367 

Ryder, John S. . 446 

Sanford, Baalis . . 112 

Sawtell, Edwin ... . 355 

Seaverns, Henry A 265 

Shaw, John J 469 

Soule, Otis W 257 

Strong, Charles P. (steel) . . . 279 

Strong, Frederick S. (steel) . . 275 

Swift, Joshua W jii 

Thomas, Flavel S 463 

X'ining, Alexander S8 

\'ining, Miss Florctta . 91 

Webster, Daniel . . 42 

Welch, E. Parker . y/) 

Whipple, John J 125 

Whiting, Edwin W 16c; 

Williamson, Charles 47S 

Wing, George F. . . 296 

Winslow, Leander . . 571 

Wright, William J. . . 535 



RRH 




, i 



^4-' 



